church camp

We are heading off for church camp tomorrow for a week. I am not a huge proponent of church camps, especially for younger kids, but I thought I would go ahead and list a few of my favorite things to get me in the proper mindset:

1. seeing old friends

2. seeing how the kids how grown and matured

3. my husband is director so I know things will run fairly, smoothly and fun

4. our whole family will be here this year-daughter's last year, son is a jr. counselor, me-cook, husband-director

5. new campground is sure to be better than the previous one

6. pool on campus

7. learning new things

8. seeing the kids have fun learning about God

9. nice to get away

10. only five days

Mr. Toad's Mad Adventures

My daughter is in another summer children's theater program. It is based on The Wind in the Willows, billed as Mr. Toad's Mad Adventures. Here are a few of my favorite things about this production:

1. free-didn't even have to buy slippers!

2. great experience

3. love the costumes-each child is dressed like a different animal

4. the director is great at casting

5. Badger acting like an elderly person

6. the weasels

7. the field mice

8. the foxes

9. seeing some of the kids grow up

10. seeing my daughter be so depended on

online shopping

I've gotten where I like shopping online even more than I did before. I can find almost anything I am looking for and there are some great reasons to shop online. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. save gas

2. do it anytime convenient for me

3. no traffic

4. no crowds

5. no lines

6. no pushy sales people

7. find great stuff, including women's clothes

8. unique items like this bottlecap belt

9. find eco-friendly items

10. find required summer reading books for my son

Blue Lagoon

We went diving yesterday at Blue Lagoon Lake in Huntsville, TX. This was our first trip here and we all really enjoyed it. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. fairly close to home

2. fairly inexpensive for a day trip

3. even though it was full, it did not seem overly crowded

4. nice area

5. clear water

6. calm water

7. warm water

8. great place for swimming and snorkeling between dives

9. the kids playing and swimming together

10. my husband and I went on one dive w/o the kids!

student loan site

The other day while riding in the car, my husband and I were talking about young adult kids living at home. The conversation turned to student loans and how many young adults are almost unwilling to take out a loan for their college education. We began pulling our kids into the conversation, to see what they thought about the issue and to be able to voice what we think and desire for our own kids. To us, college loans are a fact of life and a way to help better yourself. Yes, it takes time to get them paid off, but that is the way of it. So when I came across a website which talks about Federal Student Loans, Private Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidation , I naturally thought of that conversation. Here are a few of my favorite things from the website:

1. take 60 seconds to get started

2. get between $1,500 and $40,000 a year

3. available year-round, you can apply anytime

4. search for scholarships

5. financial aid calendar

6. repayment calculator

7. NextPath Newsletter

8. student loan blog

9. financial aid advice

10. one on one counseling from Education Finance Advisor

lake diving

Today we went scuba diving in a lake. Now, that might now sound too fun for seasoned divers, but for us newbies, we need all the practice we can get. Since it's been one month since our certification, we decided we better hit the water to make sure we remembered everything. Here are a few of my favorite things about lake diving:

1. close to home

2. make it a day trip

3. more affordable

4. no boats

5. get good practice

6. not too deep

7. calm water

8. great place to play while waiting between dives

9. great place to bring the family

10. gained cofindence

planters

I don't have the green thumb that my mom, my granny or my grandpa have. I have never been able to keep anything growing for very long. I sure wish I did. I would love to have some pretty flowers or tasty vegetables growing around my home. I even found some really pretty planters that I would love to incorporate into my gardening. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. window box planters

2. I love the personalized planters

3. outdoor planters for the patio

4. standing planters

5. thimble pot planters are cleverly cute

6. geospheres

7. the corner planter is nice

8. maybe an indoor planter stand would work well for my peace lily

9. tiered planter stand

10. a fountain for the garden would be a nice touch

summer evening

Summer is here and the family is BUSY! I am here home alone again. And I don't quite mind! Here are a few ideas of some things to do on a quiet summer evening.

1. enjoy the evening sitting outside

2. sip a cool drink

3. get lost in a good book

4. blog!

5. actually get something done, like laundry! (in between the pages of the book, of course)

6. listen to music of your choice

7. or just listen to the quiet

8. make the week's menu

9. work on photos/scrapbook/hobby

10. take a bath!

garage floors

A few years ago, we had looked into maybe painting our garage floor. Or doing something to it. We never actually did. But today I came across some great ideas for garage floors. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. high quality garage floor epoxy

2. I love the designs and colors you can use with the epoxy floor system

3. colorful interlocking floor tiles

4. no floor prep necessary for those floor tiles!

5. roll out garage floor mats

6. those floor mats are easy to clean!

7. these mats are also great for mud rooms

8. many of these products also work well in a commercial garage

10. get help in ordering the right products for your garage design

a little time away

Half of my family has been gone this week. That is not something I like or enjoy. But I try to look on the bright side and see the advantages of the time semi-alone. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. no real cooking!

2. time to clean

3. time to blog

4. stay up late, if I want

5. sleep late if I want

6. go where I want when I want

7. time alone with my daughter

8. time to read

9. quiet

10. not as many phone calls

bad credit repair

Most of us who have been around any length of time know that bad credit is not a good thing. We also know that it is easy to fall into at certain times in our lives. Maybe just getting out of school, or paying school loans, or starting a family, or a job change or layoff, or unexpected medical bills has put a strain on your finances and your credit. Knowing how to repair credit is a good thing. And getting back on your feet with good credit is a great thing. Here are a few of my favorite things about bad credit repair:

1. having a good credit report

2. get approved for a home loan

3. no high interest rates

4. get a credit card, and with lower rates

5. get a car or truck loan

6. start a business

7. go back to school

8. low health insurance rates

9. lower auto insurance rates

10. credit repair just makes you look better!

ebay

I came to love ebay several years ago. I think many people feel the same way. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. can almost always find what I am looking for

2. good prices

3. can often find unusual and/or hard to find items

4. easy to purchase

5. pay with paypal

6. I can sell things here

7. make a little cash to replenish my paypal account

8. great place to get the perfect gift items

9. usually have great people to work with

10. wide range of products for sale/auction

ceiling fans

It seems as if our spring time stayed cool a little longer than normal. But the last several weeks have sure made up for it. As summer officially approaches on the calendar, the heat ever increases. That is why I love ceiling fans . They seem to really help to circulate the air. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. keep the air circulating

2. help keep the room cool

3. allow us to keep the air conditioning at a higher temp

4. allow us to sleep cool through the night

5. provide just the right amount of "white noise"

6. add value to the home

7. there are some great new styles

8. modern ceiling fans add the right touch to new homes' decor

9. some great natural looks with fanimation fans

10. some folks even put them on their porches for outdoor enjoyment

haircut

It has been so long since I got my hair cut. Boy, I needed it. I was able to get in right away with my regular girl yesterday and I feel better. Here are a few of my favorite things about it:

1. not too short, not too long

2. cooler

3. off my neck

4. when swimming, it did not get into my eyes

5. not getting tangled so easily

6. can still pull it back if needed

7. I was able to get it done right away

8. my girl is back to work (she had been off to have a baby)

9. she has not changed her price for me in years!

10. looks so much better

local search

When I want to go somewhere that I have never been, I love to find out the information before we go. Finding directions and information and even reviews is always helpful.And being able to do a local search is ideal. Local.com is just such a site. It's a virtual local yellowpages . Here are a few of my favorite things about it:

1. local businesses information

2. hybrid of citysearch, yelp, yellowpages, and superages

3. always available

4. easy to use

5. FREE!

6. get driving directions

7. find hours and contact information

8. write your own reviews of local restaurants and businesses

9. get your own business listed

10. all this on one site!

seeing old friends

Last night I stopped by to see some friends that I have not seen in probably a year! It was a nice visit and I realized how much we have missed them. Here are a few of my favorite things about reuniting with old friends:

1. good to catch up on what's been going on

2. reestablishing connection

3. they fixed me dinner!

4. seeing the kids

5. visiting

6. having someone to share common life circumstances with

7. sharing new ideas

8. finding ways to help each other

9. it just feels good

10. brings back fond memories

school's out

My son is virtually out of school for the summer (one more final to attend, but it's journalism and will be a headline writing activity!) My daughter has been done for a week. Here are some of my favorite things about summer:

1. no school!

2. more free time

3. attend some exercise classes

4. less structured days

5. time to read

6. time to blog

7. catch up on some projects

8. trips

9. sleeping late and/or naps

10. summer activities