Monday, August 31, 2009

What would you like to see?

Morning all! We're still in Pigeon Forge, TN at the moment. We're about to go downstairs for the breakfast buffet and then off to WonderWorks. It opens at 9am, and we'll probably be there for a couple of hours. We have reservations for 6pm at Dixie Stampede for dinner. In between we'll probably have some lunch and hit the pool (which we were in 3 times yesterday. LOL).

As my longtime blog subscribers know, I enjoy changing up the blog's look from time to time. It's been a while since I changed it to the theme for A Twilight Abduction, and now I'm thinking about changing it up again. No thoughts yet on the new theme, but I was wondering if there is something you'd like to see on the blog that isn't already here.

Any widgets, gadgets, additions, or knick-knacks you'd like me to add? If you think of anything feel free to post it in the comments here or email it directly to me at christie@christiesilvers.com . I like to have things that interest people and keep bringing them back. Well, people other than my damn stalker. Ugh! Yes, I still see you everytime you show up here. Sheesh!

But I digress... While we're at it, if you think of anything the website needs, add those ideas as well. I enjoy hearing your thoughts and sometimes I just draw a complete blank on adding new things.

Well, the kids are yelling for food and the breakfast buffet is only open until 9:30am. Guess I better go. We'll be heading home tomorrow, but I'll try to post some pictures after WonderWorks today. Have a great day!

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Sunday, August 30, 2009

And we're off... again!

Morning all! We're packing and getting ready to hit the road for the last time this summer. Thought I'd post a blog entry before shutting down and packing up the laptop to bring along with me. I never leave home on a trip without my laptop... even if where we're going has absolutely no internet access. Gotta have my baby with me. LOL.

So we'll be on the road in a couple of hours (unless Tim gets overly excited and wants to leave sooner) and will reach the hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN about 3 hours later. We were last up there in April for our anniversary.

It's funny because when we were first married (and 17 years old) we could get there in 2 hours. However, over the years our times have increased. I'm guessing we drove a lot faster when we were stupid teenagers with no kids to worry about. Hahaha!

I called yesterday to make our dinner reservations at Dixie Stampede for tomorrow at 6pm. We're all set!

Today we're just going to make it up there and hang out and enjoy the pool with the kids. Everyone is excited though. Hell, Tim was begging me to go yesterday, but I set my foot down with a resounding "NO" when I saw that the hotel price for Saturday was $80 and we're only paying $50 a night for Sunday and Monday. "Nope. You're jobless, remember?" LOL! Poor guy.

So anyway, we're leaving in a bit and will be home on Tuesday. I will still have internet access so feel free to email me if you need/want to. I'll only be checking them in the late evenings, so don't expect a speedy response.

Time to shut this down now. Have a great Sunday! <3

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Saturday, August 29, 2009

Saturday morning.

Good morning all. Welcome to Saturday. Did you get to sleep in late this morning? Or did you have somewhere to be and something to do early on?

Tim and I got to sleep in this morning. The kids went to spend the night with his parents last night. We grilled out steaks and corn on the cob, did some drinking, watched some television, and then off to bed. Nothing exciting, but very relaxing and enjoyable for us.

Today we need to run an errand or two, pick up the kids, and pack for our trip tomorrow.

Tomorrow we're heading up to Pigeon Forge, TN. We'll hang out at the hotel, swim in the pool, relax in the hot tub, and just relax. Then Monday morning we'll take the kids to WonderWorks. That'll probably last a few hours. At dinnertime we'll head over to Dixie Stampede for the 6pm dinner and show. It should all be a lot of fun.

And then Tuesday morning we'll head back home and start getting ready for school. Next Thursday is Open House and then 5 days later it's the first day of school! Woohoo!

Next week is also when my monthly newsletter goes out. So if you aren't a subscriber and would like to be, now is the perfect time to do so! Subscribe here.

I better get going now. The kids will be calling for us to come get them soon. Have a great day!

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wanna Know Wednesday #29

Good afternoon everyone. How has your Hump Day gone? I've had a great time today!

Yesterday we planned to take the kids to the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. So we got up fairly early (for us lately) and were out the door by 9:30 a.m. From our house to Cartersville, GA (where the museum is) is a 50 minute drive. The museum opens at 10 a.m. and we got there at 20 after. Perfect timing!

This place is huge! It has a gift shop, cafe, outside patio from the cafe, a planetarium, a theater for guest speakers, a fossil room, motion room (cars, planes, trains, etc.), minerals and gemstones room, a playroom for the kids to try out a bit of science, and a room where you can pan for gems and dig for fossils. We were there for HOURS! It was so much fun.

If you ever get the chance to go to this museum definitely take it. The kids were amazed and loved it all. Kaitlyn (our 4 yr old) was complaining when it was time to leave. LOL.

If you'd like to see all of the pictures from today, click here to visit my Shutterfly album. :-)

Now, since it's late in the day, and I want to get this done in time for the email subscribers to get it, let me jump right into this week's Wanna Know Wednesday.

Ten of My Favorite Pictures of the Summer

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Whew! It's been such a busy, yet fun-filled summer this year. We have one more trip and then we're declaring summer OVER. LOL.

I made reservations yesterday at the hotel we'll be staying in up in Pigeon Forge. We're heading up on Sunday afternoon. We're planning to relax in the pool and hot tub that evening. On Monday morning we'll go to WonderWorks for a few hours. Then later that evening we'll go to our dinner at Dixie Stampede. You gotta make resevations for that one, so I'll call Saturday from here to make sure we can get a 6 p.m. reservation.

We'll come home on Tuesday and that's that. Whew!

Okay, I have to get going now. It's been a long, fun day, but soon I need to figure out what's for dinner and doing some laundry. Have a good evening!

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Tuesday Afternoon

Good afternoon! I know it's later in the day than I usually post an entry, but we've been busy today. Whew! It's only 1:30 pm and it's been a looooong day.

My grandmother needed some trees cut down in her back yard and Tim is the one she calls on. So we headed over there at 9am and are just now home. Ack! We were expecting a short trip, but it soon turned into much more. In the end, he ended up cutting down two full sized trees and about 25 limbs off of other trees. He would cut them and we'd drag them away. LOL.

It wasn't too bad though. The kids got to play and we got a free lunch out of it. LOL!

Now we're home and Tim's in the shower. We were talking about going to the science museum this week and Tim asked if we were going today. Um, no. It's too late in the day and everyone's hot and tired. We'll just do that tomorrow instead.

I also need to make reservations at the hotel we always stay at when we go to Pigeon Forge, TN. We'll be going up on Sunday an staying until Tuesday. That'll be the very LAST trip of the summer. Science museum and two places in Pigeon Forge.... that's it! Summer will be officially over for us after next Tuesday. Whew!

Next Thursday the kids have Open House at both schools and then five days later, on September 8th, school will begin. Yay!!!

Okay, I'm off for today. The kids are fighting and the shower stopped, so Tim'll be back in here in a few minutes. Have a great rest of the day. :-)

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Monday, August 24, 2009

It went over wonderfully.

Well, the baby loved her new bookshelf yesterday. She came home and was completely amazed and excited when she spotted it. For the rest of the day she repeatedly told Tim and I that she loves her bookshelf and how much she loves us. LOL! She was so funny.

Here's the video from yesterday.





Today is just a hanging at home day for us. Tim just finished up cleaning the house gutters and the oldest has an orthodontist appointment at 4pm. I've already cleaned the kitchen and made some phone calls. I'm on the phone with my sister right now just chit-chatting. :-)


I don't really have anything else planned for today besides running the kids by the library before the ortho appointment. They only have two more weeks of summer vacation before school FINALLY starts. We have two more trips planned before school starts.


We're waiting on some free tickets to come in this week and then we'll be spending two days up in Pigeon Forge on Sunday and Monday. We also have a trip to the science museum planned down in Cartersville sometime before school starts, but don't have a day picked for that one yet. LOL. The kids will definitely have a lot to tell when they're asked, "What did you do over the summer?"


Okay, Tim's out of the shower now. Guess I better go see what he wants to do now. :-)


Have a great day!


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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sunday morning.

Morning! I awoke feeling well-rested this morning. Two nights in a row without the pitter-patter of little 4 yr old feet waking me numerous times throughout the night makes for a great night's sleep!

What did we do with ourselves yesterday? We built the 4 yr old her very own bookshelf. She's been wanting one just like her sisters have and swears she has a LOT of books to put on it. She actually does have a good many books (like the older girls do), so we had to agree that she needed one of her own. LOL. So Tim and I spent half of Saturday gtting supplies and building her very own unit. I'll take a video of her when she comes home to share her surprise.


Well, that's it for this morning. We're in a rush to get dressed and go pick the kids up. Then we have to head over to Tim's parents' house for our weekly visit with them. Ugh. Anyway, he's in the shower and I know he expects me to be fully dressed and waiting when he gets out (it ain't gonna happen, but he expects it. LOL!) so we can rush off.

Here are pics of the new bookcase.




Have a great day!

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Friday, August 21, 2009

It'll be September before we know it.

Sooooo, it'll be September soon and I'm planning another easy giveaway.

This time, the lucky winner will be chosen from all of my blog followers and subscribers. Woohoo!

All you have to do is follow Christie's Thoughts via Google Friend Connect, Facebook Network Blogs, or through the Feedburner email subscriber. All are over there ----->

At the end of September I'll choose one name from all the subscribers and they will win an e-book version of A Midnight Infatuation.

How easy is that? Sooooo easy!

Feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested.

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Welcome to Friday.

Morning all. Yeah, it's later than I try to usually post. I generally aim for first thing in the morning, as soon as I wake up. However, this morning was a bit busier than usual, so here I am now... at nearly lunchtime. LOL!

Yesterday was a busy day. We got up at 9am and discovered that Tim's first unemployment check had been direct deposited into our bank account a day earlier than expected. Yay! Money in the bank account is always a good thing to have. Too bad it all leaves so quickly. LOL.

The older girls didn't climb out of bed until 10am. *Shocking*

We all ate a quick breakfast. I made all the girls strawberry smoothies to order and had a yogurt myself. Then Tim and I decided to surprise the kids by taking them to the Tennessee Aquarium for the day.

We left out at noon and didn't get home until 6pm. We now have a 1 year family membership to the aquarium and can go anytime we want. It just made sense to spend an even $100 for an entire year over the $88 it would've cost to get all 5 of us in for one time.

We had a good time and all 3 of the girls behaved nicely. Kaitlyn--our4yr old--had never been and she was so excited. The last time we went I was pregnant with her. So it's been a while. LOL. She ran from exhibit to exhibit declaring how "pretty" and "beautiful" everything was. She was amazed at all the creatures, and even touched some fish in the touch tanks. She had a great time.

Today Tim and I are being treated to two, count them 2, nights without the kids! Mom is taking them tonight and then my sister wants them tomorrow. Not only that, but my sister wants Mom to just bring the kids straight to her house tomorrow... without stopping here! Wow! We won't know how to act. Oh, wait! Yessssss, we will!!! ;-)

Nonetheless, the kids are now packed up for two nights away, Tim is ironing a pair of shorts for the youngest (with a little beginning help from me) and we're discussing what to make for dinner tonight. When it's just the two of us we always cook together. It's nice. <3

Today is a good day. I was even awakened by my frisky hubby this morning. Closing & locking the bedroom door is definitely a great way to start the day. LOL!

Well, he's done ironing now. I guess it's time for me to get busy with other items of interest. For now, enjoy a few of the 100 pictures I took at the aquarium yesterday. :-) Some are blurry or dark, but mainly because my camera batteries died & I had to take a lot of them with my cell phone. Plus the lighting is so pretty in there that if you use the flash it darkens or washes out the pics and if you don't it throws the contrast off. Oh well, what can ya do? LOL!


















Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Wanna Know Wednesday #28

Good morning all! Welcome to Hump Day. What big plans do you have in store for today? Anything special? I have no idea what we're doing, but I do know that I gotta do some laundry... again... always! LOL.

Yesterday I spent half the day cleaning out the 4 year old's bedroom closet. I sent off 3 trash bags and two boxes full of baby clothes, shoes, cloth diapers, toys and blankets to my sister (who is trying to conceive). I'v alreay given her some carseats, bouncy seat and changing table. Up next will be the crib (which we're still using since it converts to a toddler bed) once we get a "big girl bed" for her. LOL.


Tim was complaining yesterday about being soooooo bored and having nothing to do. He said last night that he didn't want us to sit around the house today. I quickly reminded him that I didn't sit around all day. LOL!!! Who knows what he has planned for today.



On the upside, I did find out yesterday that both my mom and my sister will be getting the kids this weekend. Woohoo! Two nights in a row of peace and quiet. Now if the in-laws want them for Thursday night, we'll be all set for a 3 day weekend of quiet evenings. LOL! If only we had the extra $$$ to go away. That would be awesome!

Okay, so here's this week's Wanna Know Wednesday. I thought I'd share the last ten articles I've written. I'm getting closer and closer to the 1 million pageview mark on AC. Woohoo!

My Last 10 Articles:
  1. Birth Control Methods and Effectiveness
  2. Free Sixth Grade Games to Play on the Computer
  3. Games for a 3 Year Old to Play on the Computer
  4. Preschool Kids Games to Play on the Internet
  5. Back to School: Preparing Your Youngest for Their First Day of School
  6. Back to School: Important School Supplies for Elementary School
  7. SAHM: Cheap Things to Do with Your Kids on a Summer Evening
  8. Planning a Vow Renewal Ceremony on a Budget
  9. Should You Have a Vow Renewal Ceremony?
  10. SAHM: Spending Time with Your Four Year Old

The first four are the ones I wrote for Demand Studios for publication on eHow.com. I'm having a good time writing for DS. The money is better than AC, and that definitely helps. LOL!

Stop by and check them out if you get the time. :-)

I guess it's that time again. Time for me to get off here and start the laundry while Tim decides what he MUST go do today. Sheesh! LOL.

Have a great day!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Tuesday already?

I can't believe it's Tuesday. Now that Tim's home my days are running together. There's no break between week days and weekends. The kids are home, Tim's home, we have no schedules to keep. Boy, I'll be glad when school starts.

Yesterday we took the kids fishing again. This time we went to a different spot that was completely secluded and quiet. It was nice. We had lots of bites and nibbles, but no actual catches. However, all the bites and nibbles made it a lot more fun and kept the kids' attention better. Nonetheless, they did end up bored and digging in the sand behind us. LOL!

We stayed at the lake for several hours, but then I realized that all I'd had for the day was a yogurt. The heat was getting to me and the lightheadedness hit hard. Sooooo, at 4pm it was time to head for home and dinner. Leave it to me to forget to eat anything before running out the door for a day at the lake. Sheesh! And since we didn't leave until after the kids had their lunch, we didn't bring any snacks with us.... just waters. Oh well, I'll try to remember next time.

Today was the day for Tim to claim his first unemployment check. However, this became more difficult than expected when the website must have been having issues this morning (probably due to a LOT of people on there claiming their checks) and his PIN wasn't working. So now, instead of simply claiming it & waiting for it to be direct deposited, he has a call into office to see what the problem is and when he'll get paid. Here's hoping this doesn't delay his check too long. This stuff sucks ass big time. Thank goodness I still have money coming in regularly.

Today is a rainy, wet day here. I doubt we'll be going anywhere at all. Tim'll be sitting by the phone until the unemployment office calls back anyway. I've already completed some edits on an article this morning and need to work on research for the next one. The carpet needs tobe vacuumed, but that's about it. I did all the laundry and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen yesterday.

Sounds like a lazy day around here today.

Okay, before I go, here are some pictures from yesterday.








Sunday, August 16, 2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Teenagers & Bedroom Makeovers

Ooohhh how exciting! I recently found out that a Facebook friend of mine, Dr. Mommy, and Walmart are working together to give away a $500 Walmart giftcard to be used in purchasing a complete bedroom makeover using their new Your Zone products.

Sooooo, I just had to enter for the older girls. They've been sharing a bedroom ever since the youngest was born in 2005. They've been wanting aroom makeover for a little while now, but we just haven't gotten around to doing it yet... and they can't decide on a paint color to start with. LOL!

One of the rules for entering the contest is to share a video or photos of the bedroom in question, so I gave our oldest my camera and let her do her thing. :-)

Looks like the Photobucket video wasn't working right, so here it is again, though on YouTube instead. :-)



Welcome to the weekend.

Good afternoon all you wonderful friends, family and fans! Woohoo, it's Saturday. What have you been up to today?

We had a very busy day yesterday. Lots of running around, doing errands and combating Tim's boredom. LOL! That man just can't take it. I told him he wouldn't be able to; that a week into the lay-off he'd be hollering about having nothing to do, and not wanting to do the things I suggest. LOL! And I was right! Hahaha!

Today we woke up and decided to go to the lake for some fishing with the kids. Most of you probably know that fishing with kids means no actual fishing will occur. Apparently Tim had forgotten that fact and expected to actually fish. ROFL! Sheesh! I love that man, but sometimes he can be mindless. LOL.

Our fishing trip lasted a few hours, that kids had a blast and we all came home wet from playing in the water. LOL. Unfortunately, Tim was frustrated with the reel Cassandra (our oldest) was using, and then his brand new rod we'd just purchased YESTERDAY broke in half. Ack! Needless to say, he didn't have a good time.

We're planning to try it again Monday morning. Hopefully he'll have a much better time at it.

Kaitlyn, our 4 year old, kept handing me her small fishing rod and saying with a sigh, "Mommy, will you please catch me a fish?" She just didn't understand that it doesn't happen just because your throw the hook in the water. LOL. Then Sara, our 9 year old, kept stating that fishing was boooooooring. LOL!

We'll see how Monday goes. I plan to let them wear their swimsuits and just let 'em go.

Right now we're back home. Tim is outside vacuuming the swimming pool so the kids can go play later this evening. I haven't decided what's for dinner yet, so I guess I better figure that out in the new few hours. I have one article to work on and laundry to finish.

Before I go, here are some pictures from our fishing today.............












Thursday, August 13, 2009

Thursday. The week is nearly over.

Morning all. How has your week gone thus far? I can't believe that the week's almost over. Tim has been home for an entire week now. He's not tolerating it all that well, but he has improved over this past Monday.

Today we have to drive down to pick up his last paycheck and tiny separation bonus. This will be it for there. Next week will be his first unemployment check. He's not too thrilled. Poor guy.

Yesterday we weren't planning to do much, but ended up going out anyway. We borrowed an Xbox game from my sister for Tim to try out. Then we took the girls to the library. Lastly, we stopped by Wal-mart for hotdog buns and milk so we coul grill hotdogs and brawts for dinner. And back home we went. It was nothing special, but Tim was determined to get out of the house.

Ooohhh, and I was also happy to find out that my second article for the new company was also accepted without anyrequested rewrites. Woohoo! Looks like I'm okay there and will continue to write for them. Not bad at all. And I'll get paid for these two articles tomorrow. Just in time to have some weekend spending money. ;-)

Well, I better get to it. I have another article to work on and Tim'll be ready to leave in a few hours for his paycheck. Who knows where we'll end up at afterwards. LOL. He's the roaming kind of guy. He loves to travel (as do I) and roam around town. We always end up somewhere we weren't planning to go. I can't wait 'til our next trip!

Have a great Thursday!

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wanna Know Wednesday #27

Good morning all! Welcome to Hump Day. What do you have planned for today?

Well, I'm happy to announce that my very first article for the new company that accepted me the other day was accepted within 24hrs with absolutely no rewrites requested. Woohoo!!! I was so happy yesterday that Tim was snickering at me for it. LOL. Seriously though, when you start working for a new company who has more rules and requirements than you're use to, it's a great thing to know that your work is up to par. I harped over every word in that article. Yay!

Article #2 is waiting to be reviewed by the copy editor right now. *Fingers crossed*

So I've decided to make a change. I've been working on Time For Death for almost a year now. Well, if you can call it working when I've only edited the first 3 chapters. I've been really wanting to work on Promise of Darkness, but hate leaving one project by the wayside to work on another one. I'm a finish one before starting the next type of gal...usually.

However, I'm in a different place than I was a year ago. I want to work on the erotica story NOW. Therefore, Time For Death is being placed on the back burner until I'm done with Promise of Darkness. This may end up being the point where I decide to go for more erotica writing instead of general paranormal fiction in the future, but who knows. I did so love writing the sex/love scenes in my Alex & Fiona books. Those were my favorite scenes!

As a writer you have to know when to make a change. You can't just stick to what you always write. Sometimes you need to come out of that comfort zone and try something new. You never know where it'll take you. So here I am, making a change, moving in a new direction and stepping out of my comfort zone when it comes to unfinished projects. Ack!

I'm sorry Liz. You'll have to wait. I know we have more stories planned after Time For Death, but Promise of Darkness is calling to me even louder than you do. Your first story is done, it's just not edited. Give me a few months and maybe I'll come back to edit you. For now I need to focus on a more steamy, sexy, lustful story.

Okay, now that I'm done talking to imaginary people (though I think of them as real), let me get to this week's Wanna Know Wednesday! With the first day of school less than 1 month away now, we've decided to enjoy the last few weeks. So here are............

10 More Things We'll Do Before School Starts
  1. Take the girls fishing.
  2. We have a short trip to Pigeon Forge planned at the end of the month to visit WonderWorks and the Dixie Stampede. What better than FREE tickets to get you going. LOL.
  3. We plan to take the girls to the science museum down in Cartersville. It's been open a while, and we've wanted to visit, but Tim never had time. Now he has lots of time. LOL.
  4. A visit to the Tennessee Aquarium. We haven't been since I was pregnant with Kaitlyn (hey Megan!! *waves*), so she's never seen it. And we haven't been to the "new" section they built years ago. LOL.
  5. We're thinking about a visit to the Atlanta Zoo. We went when the older two were very small (ages 5 and 2), so they don't remember it and Kaitlyn has never been.
  6. Lots more swimming in the pool. The girls discovered a hole in one of the filter hoses Sunday, so the pool is out of commission this week. We'll fix that this coming weekend.
  7. Lots more grilled dinners. I love when Tim cooks for me.
  8. More library visits. The girls absolutely love spending time at the library, and I couldn't be happier about that.
  9. Yard work. Yes, the girls have to help. The youngest likes being outside, but the older two complain. LOL.
  10. Just enjoy the last days of summer vacation. A week ago I was wishing the girls were back in school. They were suppose to be. But now I'm actually glad for this extra month so we can go do all these fun things with them and make new memories. It should be lots of fun!

Okay, that's it for today. So sorry I missed posting yesterday, but with Tim home the days just fly by. We sleep late, hang out, I've been working on articles, and then the next thing you know it's dinnertime. LOL. Anyway, here you go and I hope you have a great day! *Smooches*

Monday, August 10, 2009

A new week with new opportunities!

Good morning all! It's yet another Monday morning. What do you have planned for the new week? We don't have a whole lot of things going on this week. Tim wanted at least a week "off" to enjoy him beig laid off. We'll see how that goes.

Speaking of my honey, he doesn't seem to be doing as well as we expected with the whole being jobless thing. He seems unsure about things and the direction he wants to go. Not that I've been bothering him to take a direction. I've fully agreed that he needs a break before making any decisions, but he seems to feel that he should know everything right now. Hopefully he'll become a little more comfortable this week and stop harping on the fact that he's "never been jobless before."

On the upside, I got a new freelance writer job. Woohoo! It's another online company, but this one pays more per article and has a whole slew of topics to write on. I'll be working on the first four article for them this week and see how it goes. I could do a lot more than four, but I wanted to start out small to make sure things will work out and if I'll like writing for this company. Hopefully it'll work out nicely and I can make some good money from them to go along with my AC money and book royalties each money.

Speaking of my beloved books: Don't forget that all three of the Alex & Fiona books are now available in the e-book format, and for only $5 each! This is a savings of $32.85 + shipping over buying all three in paperback form. Add to that the fact that you're saving paper too!

Stop by the website and order your own e-book copy today. http://www.christiesilvers.com/books.htm

I've heard nothing but positive comments from the readers of my books who've taken the time to contact me. However, I'd greatly appreciate feedback and ratings on Amazon for the books. Most people don't bother going to rate a book (I'm terrible at this myself too), but those ratings and positive feedback are so helpful in pulling in new readers. I'd really appreciate it, and have even made it easy by including the link to each book's Amazon page below.

A Midnight Infatuation - Amazon.com
A Birth at Dawn - Amazon.com
A Twilight Abduction - Amazon.com

Okay, I better get going. Not only do I have laundry to do today, but I have some errands to run and articles to work on. Thursday we have to drive an hour to Cartersville to pick up Tim's last paycheck. We're planning to take the girls fishing sometime this week, and hopefully that'll perk Tim up a bit (he loves fishing). He also has a few things on his own "honey-do" list... clean the gutters, take off the trash, weedeatig around the house, etc.

It'll be a busy week even though we don't really have any plans at all. LOL!

Have a great week.
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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Saturday at home.

Good afternoon all you blog readers. How's your weekend going? Anything special and/or exciting?

Last night Tim and I went out on our nearly-free-date-night. I had a Buy 1, Get 1 Free movie ticket for us to go see the new G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It was a great movie, and since we went to the 4:15pm showing we got matinee pricing. Only $7 came out of pocket for that (we didn't buy junk foods). Then after the movie we went to Applebee's for dinner. I had a $25 giftcard tha covered our meals and the tip. Nothing out of pocket for that one. Woohoo!

Mom had the girls last night, so we got to come home to an empty and super quiet house. Tim played a little Xbox for about an hour and then we found something else to play. ;-) It was so quiet that we both slept 'til about 8:30 this morning. Nice!

We haven't done much today. Tim did some cleaning on his numerous fishing rods. We're planning to take the girls fishing sometime the next week. Then we cleaned the pool a bit and changed the filter. The oldest mowed the lawn and the younger two did a bunch of coloring. LOL.

In a bit we're heading out to swim, and then Tim will be grilling some fish for dinner. It's just a nice, easy-going Saturday. These are great days. :-)

I'm off to apply some sunscreen and head to the pool. Have a great day!

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wanna Know Wednesday #26

Good morning to all of you lovely people out there. I hope that you woke up to a beautiful Wednesday with lots of happiness. It's still muddy here, but the sun is peeking out from time to time. This has been one wet summer.

So tonight is a full moon. I've always loved the full moon. There's something magical and special about it glowing at its full brightness. With a cloudless sky the full moon can illuminate my entire house. It's quite lovely. Maybe I should go out and dance naked under the moonlight tonight. LOL! I would if I could convince Tim to do it too. Hahaha!

Speaking of my man. Today's his last day of work. I can't believe this day is already here. Seems like the days passed by so fast since the announcement of the lay-off. Now we just do what we can do and hope for the best. We've made all the preparations that we can possibly make, and now we just go with it.

I'm actually hoping that this going to be a good thing. Tim is the type to stick with where he's at and not make any changes unless he's forced into it. He's so good at it that at the age of 33 he's only had two jobs. He started working at the age of 16; worked there for ten years before moving to this current job where he's been for six years. Of course, I'm okay with that. I'd rather have a man who sticks with his jobs instead of moving from one to the next to the next.

Hopefully the future will bring about something fabulous for us. :-)

Okay, so it's Wednesday. When I sat down to write this I had no idea what my Wanna Know Wednesday would be about. However, I've been interrupted numerous times by the children (who are just as ready to go back to school as I am for them to go) and now I know what to list.

10 Of My Pet Peeves
  1. Interruptions by children when I'm clearly working or on the phone.
  2. Bad drivers who think they own the roads.
  3. Someone arguing with me when they know I'm right.
  4. Internet stalkers. Yep, you know who you are.
  5. Screaming children. I don't care if they're mine or someone elses, I don't want to hear them screaming.
  6. Crowds. Oh boy, do I hate crowds. Well, maybe I should say that I hate being IN crowds. I guess it's not so bad if I'm on the sidelines just watching the crowds go by. LOL!
  7. Mopping the kitchen and then finding muddy footprints five minutes later.
  8. Doing four loads of laundry, thinking I'm finally done, and then the girls bring in enough dirty clothes from their bedroom to do two more load. Blah!!!!
  9. Trying to decide what's for dinner when you're not in the mood to cook or eat, and have no idea what to make. Yes, I'm often not in the mood for food, and have forgotten to eat on many ocassions.
  10. Waiting on a sevice man to arrive between 8am and 5pm. Ugh! Seriously!

Those are only a few things that pick on my nerves. There are many, but these seem to be the top ones that happen more often than others.

Okay, I'm off to do some housework. I've had the kids cleaning their rooms all morning, and they're eating lunch right now. I've got #2 out of 3 loads of laundry washing right now. I'll have another load when Tim gets home from work and everyone takes showers this evening.

Have a great Hump Day!

.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Is it time for school yet?

Please, please, please tell me that it's September 8th already. Geez, I don't think I can take much more of these kids whining, fighting, and screaming at each other. It's so muddy outside that they are mainly stuck inside. The youngest keeps begging to go to the beach; not realizing that the beach is six hours away and we won't be going back until next year.

Why, oh why, did the school system have to move the first day of school from August 6th to September 8th? I'm going utterly insane here. I haven't gotten much of any writing work done this summer, and that alone throws my entire world out of sync. I'm a writer. I must write! If I don't write my day isn't complete. Things get turned topsy-turvy when I can't find enough peace and quiet to put words on paper (laptop screen).

Today I get the supply list for our oldest. She's going into 7th grade when school finally does begin. I've already purchased a whole slew of school supplies as it is, but there is always more needed when those "lists" are finally released. This year is no different. I'll be going out in a little while to pick up the rest of what she needs. Thank goodness for back-to-school sales.

Speaking of back to school, thanks to those of you who comments and read my newest articles. :-) My pageviews are creeping closer and closer to 1 million with each new day!

I'm feeling a bit more rested today than I did yesterday. It's nuts how it takes days to recover from a vacation that was *suppose* to be relaxing. Let me just say that I'll never, ever book a vacation rental from the company I used this year. When you discover a used condom in a bowl on top of the fridge... well, that's just never a good thing. And yes, I took a picture as proof. Ugh!

For anyone planning a trip to Tybee Island, I'll happily share the name of the company with you so you can avoid the hassle I've dealt with. Just email me anytime.

Anyway, on the work front, I was so hoping to have the edits and rewrites finished for Time For Death by the time school starts. Unfortunately, with all the craziness we've dealt with this summer that's just not happening. It's still possible, but highly unlikely. Then again, maybe I can! *lightbulb moment*

Tomorrow is Tim's last day work. He'll be laid off after that. Sucks on the job/money front, but I do recall him stating that he'd be my househusband!!! Oh yeah! He's suppose to take over the household and children so I can get my book finished. Hmmm.... Maybe I can get done by September after all.

I'll have to remind him of that this evening. Yeah, that's it! Having a househusband sounds fantastic!

Okay, I think I'll go and fantasize (while blocking out the screaming) about being able to write all day without interruptions. Awwww, that would be fantabulous!!

Have a great Tuesday!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Welcome to a new week!

Good morning all! How was your weekend? I hope it was well.

We got back yesterday from our trip to Tybee Island. We all have a very nice, dark tan from our time on the beach. I've posted a lot of pictures in my website's photo gallery. Stop by and check them out.
http://www.christiesilvers.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=6678459




We had some rain on Saturday when we drove over to Savannah. Unfortunately, that meant we weren't able to get the yearly picture of the girls on the big tree in the park we go to. :-( However, we got many of them at the beach to enjoy. If you check out the pictures, I put some small descriptions for each one of them if you click on them individually.

Oh, some of you may have heard that Miley Cyrus was shooting a movie down on Tybee Island back at the end of June/beginning of July. I was so glad that we didn't go at that time. The beach would've been ridiculous. Wellllllllll, apparently this past weekend was time for her to re-shoots. Ack! Yep, half the beach and the entire pier was closed down on Friday afternoon so they coulddo re-shoots.

The younger two girls wants to go see "Hannah Montana" so we got them some icecream and walked over to one of the crossover bridges. The girls ate their icecream while we watched the re-shoot. I only had my phone with me, so the picture I took of that was small without zoom.



http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/christiesilvers/Tybee%202009/0731091639.jpg





Anyway, we're back and I was so glad to get back into my own bed. The kids tried to run us ragged the entire time there, and all we wanted to do was relax and enjoy the ocean. As soon as we finished one outting/activity, they were begging for the next. It was definitely crazy.

However, now we're home. We ate our fills of fresh seafood, tanned and played in the ocean, both Tim and Cassandra got hit by jellyfish twice. LOL. Luckily, it was just small hits on them that were better by the next day. Nothing like that year when one attacked my entire left leg, foot, and hand. I was in major pain for many weeks from that. Me being the good mommy that I am, I made sure to pack cortizone cream and Benedryl pills... just in case. Good thing I did.

Okay, now. It's a brand new month and a brand new week. Time for us to start counting down to the first day of school. Woohoo!!! I can't wait to send them off to school and get a break. LOL. We've already gotten all their school shopping done, and the school supplies are stocked up nicely. School shopping even inspired two new articles...

Back to School: Important School Supplies For Elementary School
Back to School: Preparing Your Youngest Child for Their First Day of School

Stop by and check them out. I'm getting closer each day to the 1 million pageview mark on there. Thanks to those of you who are reading my articles. :-)

One last thing before I get going today. Wednesday is the day that my monthly newsletter goes out. If you aren't already a subscriber, now is definitely the time to do so. :-) It's easy, and I only send out messages on the first Wednesday of every month.
http://www.mailermailer.com/x?oid=1003219z

Okay, I'm off. I have some laundry to wash and a couple of errands to run. This is Tim's last week of work before he lay-off. I have preparations to take care of. This week is going to drag by. Might as well get to work on it. LOL.

Have a grat day!