It’s My Imagination

It’s Windy

Why is is that Dallas is so dang windy?

My husband actually got all the Halloween decorations put up out front. This is a record for him, he’s usually doing the decorating on Halloween afternoon! He may go back to that way of thinking since the wind here in Dallas has managed to blow down most of the decorations, not once, not twice, but yes, 3 separate times!

Why oh why is it so dang windy in Dallas?!

Family Vacation

Every year or so, my sister’s and I try to plan a family get together. This isn’t the easiest task since we all live in different states and we try to plan it when every one of the adults can get vacation time. Two years ago we met in Tennessee and rented a cabin for all of us. This past summer we met in Branson, Missouri and I managed to get us all hotel rooms. Our next vacation is up in the air, it could be anything from Calgary houses for rent to a beach house vacation in Florida.

My sisters children are grown and mostly of them are married, but we still enjoy it when any of them can join us on our family vacations. My daughter is a teenager and plays softball all summer long, so it can be difficult to squeeze in vacation time in between tournaments, but we sure try! When we get together, we love to shop (especially at fabric shops), but we also like to do more adventurous things too. In Tennessee we went river rafting and in Branson we went zip-lining and had so much fun doing both. This summer was so hot, I’m think heading north to cooler, but still warm temperatures would be a nice change of pace, Alberta, Canada does sound inviting!

Do you do family vacations?

Marching, Marching

Saturday was the first marching competition of the season. It was a local contest that was more for practice than anything else. Our band is so dang huge that I can’t get them all in the picture! This photo was taken as they were warming up just before their performance. They took 7th place overall which is the best finish ever for this band and we are very proud. They are awesome to watch and even more awesome to hear in person.

Water Damage

It’s raining in Dallas!  This is big news because we are in one of the most severe droughts in history!  Yes, we are very happy to see the rain.

Unfortunately, due to the drought, many people may be discovering water leaks in their homes that they may not have been aware of before the rains came.  I hope we’re not one of those homes, but I sure know what it’s like to have to find someone to fix water damage. We had a water heater burst in our attic last year and had both ceiling and floor damage as a result. Water damage needs to be repaired right away, if not, it can lead to even more damage including mold. We had to have drywall replaced and then painted and I had to ensure that our wood floors got completely dry to keep them from warping.

If you find that your home has suffered any water damage, you might try clicking http://www.thesteamteam.com/ for more information everything from carpet cleaning to full restoration.

I feel fortunate that, at least today, I can just sit back and enjoy the rain, we’ve really missed it around here!

Marching Season

It is once again marching season, that’s band marching season for those of you not clear on this!

Yesterday was the first official competition to open the fall season and it was so much fun to see the bands, watch them march and hear some great music. Our band, as good as they are, didn’t take home any trophies, but they did place 7th in the final round, one of their best finishes ever, against some very stiff competition.

Next Saturday is the next competition. Hopefully they got their butterflies out of their system and can kick some marching butt next time! Stay tuned (no pun intended!)

Time to Save Money

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have to save up over $900 before March in order to send my daughter on her Spring trip with the school marching band.  On a budget that is all ready tight, I look at all of our current monthly expenses to see what I could be saving by doing things differently.  Of course, the cell phone bill is always under scrutiny. 

I opted to Call a friend and ask her what cell phone provider she uses and she told me about Straigh Talk, a cell phone service that could potentially cut my monthly bill in half.  That would be almost enough in savings to send my daughter on her trip!  Plus, they have all types of available phones including those with touch screens, cameras, video cameras and even smart phones.  Just like our current plan, we could still have an Android on Straight Talk. 

Straight Talk has no contracts, no credit checks and they have nationwide coverage.  Unlimited monthly service can be only $45/month, definitely less than what I’m currently paying.  They also offer international long distance calling in flexible prepaid packages. There are no activation, reactivation or early termination charges with Straight Talk.

If I haven’t all ready convinced you Hook, line and sinker then you need to watch the video for more information!

It’s Bigger in Texas!

This photo is of the Homecoming mum my daughter received from her boyfriend. Yes, it’s really that big! To be honest, this particular mum would probably be considered small compared to what many other girls received!

They wear these mums to school on the day of the Homecoming football game and then of course, they also wear them to the game. My daughter actually wore it to the game over her band uniform and even marched wearing it!

Yes, the traditions here are as big as Texas itself.