Three Specific Dates

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pics are of the Icy Heart Decorations I made yesterday. Didn't they turn out cute?

I've also taken a picture of our street yesterday at 4:16 p.m. I'm planning on going out at 4:16 p.m. today and taking the same exact picture to see if there is any difference. I have to admit. I am a little skeptical.

NOTE FOR KANDY AND ROBIN - Hi, Girls. I've left comments for you in yesterday's Comment Section. Check those out, please.

Randomness is definitely the Topic of the Week. I have a few thoughts I'd like to talk about next week, but since we started the week with a massive dose of Randomness, we'll keep it going until Friday!

RANDOMNESS #1- Roxie and the Lady Rockets won their basketball game last night. It was a wonderful way to come back after the long Christmas holiday. And today they get to sleep in. It's like a very, very nice reward for a game well played.

RANDOMNESS #2 - I've been watching all the previews for The Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I feel it necessary to support my favorite wrestler by encouraging everyone to see this movie when it comes out January 22. BUT before I encourage you to do so, I will most definitely read the Focus on the Family review first. It looks very family-friendly, but I've made that mistake before. We'll be talking about The Rock's new movie in more detail at a later date. I just wanted to give you a head's up.

RANDOMNESS #3 - I went to Wal-Mart yesterday around noon and was shocked at how "un-busy" the store appeared to be. Tons of milk... tons of bread... tons of diapers. (I don't need them, but it's good to know.) It was the calm before the storm, I am sure.

Blog Linkage - I have several things for you to read today, so enjoy.

1. Click on The Pioneer Woman under My Blog List. Read her January 4 post called So Frightened. It is a perfect example of the truly Simple Life.

2. After you read The Pioneer Woman's post, click on Lisa's Blog for not one, but two, very good posts. The first one is called An Update on Gabe dated December 26. It is about a little boy with lung cancer. It is a video, and it will definitely touch you as you watch Gabe and his family come to grips with his diagnosis and the kindness of strangers.

The second post is called Happy 2010, My Top Ten and it is dated January 4. It would be a great way to break your trip down into quick, easy and entertaining scrapbook layouts.

3. Next, check out Tara Whitney's post under tara whitney photography called 1.01.10. It is a wonderful video she has made of the pictures that meant the most to her from the year 2009. It is beautiful and it captures everything you would want to remember from your year... trips, family time, favorite activities, favorite foods, sibling relationships, parent relationships, colors, etc., etc. I loved it, and I bet you will, too.

4. Lastly, my friend, Carmen, left me a new website for all of you coupon moms out there. Carmen has saved a lot of money recently, and she wanted to share the info. Go to http://www.momadvice.com/resources/downloads.aspx. I've looked at it for a few minutes, and it appears to be VERY organized. I like that. I'm going to start reading the "Blog" section tomorrow to see how everything works. Let me know what you think.

Three Specific Dates

I have three very specific dates for you today. I got the information from http://blog.al.com/bargain-mom/, so see if any of these apply to you and yours.

1. This could be a family date or a great one-on-one date with one of your kids. It could be a day trip or an overnight trip. When we've gone to Callaway Gardens in the past, we've stayed at a local Days' Inn (with free breakfast). Here are the details.

This is your chance to see Callaway Gardens for free. Everybody is getting in free January and February of this year. You may be thinking, "Of course it's free. It's winter." However, you would be surprised at how beautiful it is, even during this time of year.

You can check out the green houses, the butterflies and more. (Watch the weather and pick a mild winter weekend. You can rent the bicycles and ride the great bike trails which wind through the Gardens. The biking is great. We've done this three different times.)

Think cheap weekend trip. It would be a GREAT.

2. A Bargain Mom reader sent in this great tip about McAlister's Deli. They just announced on their Facebook page within recent days that kids 12 and under eat free all day (every day) during the month of January.

You can take your child on a lunch or dinner date (with their meal free), or you can combine this with another activity.

NOTE: You will need to purchase an adult meal to qualify for the kid's meal.

3. National Pancake Day is February 23. IHOP will give you a free triple stack of pancakes. They would like you to make a donation to the Children's Miracle Network. Even with a donation, it would still be a very inexpensive meal. Again, the breakfast can be the date, or it can be a meal to accompany an activity. Mark your calendars (in ink) and enjoy.

Have a very white Thursday. Make snowmen, have snowball fights, drink hot chocolate, watch movies, eat snow cream, play games. Do it all! It may be a while before we have another snowfall in Alabama. Enjoy your family and friends. Tomorrow we'll end the week with a little more randomness and Weekend Happenings.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda