Way back in September, Matt won a goldfish at our town's fall festival. Darren and I were enjoying wine with friends at a local store, when Matt came rushing in with the bag containing the goldfish firmly clasped in his hands. We all ooohed and aaahed. Matt immediately took this fish, whom he named Swimmy, home. We didn't have a fish bowl, so he put Swimmy in a big vase.

Later that evening, we explained to Matt that carnival goldfish usually die quickly. We decided not to get a fish bowl, because chances are, Swimmy would never be able to enjoy it for long. Matt was fine with that, so Swimmy took residence in the vase, on top of Matt's dresser.

Lo and behold, we had the most amazing carnival goldfish in history. Swimmy now permanently resides in the vase on our hutch in the dining room. Matt is very steadfast in caring for Swimmy. When we went to the Bahamas last week, we explained that Swimmy may not make it, but when Matt came back with Gigi Sunday night, Swimmy was swimming around, happy as can be.

This morning, poor Swimmy was on his side, laboring for every breath. Matt was pretty upset. He came in my office crying. "Mom, Swimmy's dying. Come say goodbye." So I went into the kitchen where Darren had just switched the water, and there was Swimmy, laying on his side, gills flashing. I started crying, too, because my little boy's heart was breaking.

Then something amazing happened. Swimmy started bucking back and forth. Within a few minutes, he was vertical again! Before long, he was swimming around his vase, like nothing had ever phased him. We had been sad a few moments before; now we were stunned at this fish's will to live!

Swimmy is back in his spot on the hutch now, swimming around, taking in all the sites. We got some pretty sweet pictures of him "just in case."  Looking at him now, though, you'd never guess anything had ever gone wrong.

Matthew 17:20

"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

        

I found the cutest concept today. You can virtually sit on Santa's lap and give him your wish list. He then checks with his elves to see if you've been naughty or nice, and if you deserve the present you're wishing for. All you do is go to SitOnSantasLap.com,,upload your picture, input your name and wish, and VOILA!  You're sitting on Santa's lap!  It's a cute idea; frankly, I don't know if it's the idea that's good, or the animation.

Seriously, though, this is clever holiday advertising. This is to promote a really cool digital photo frame that's on special from Ceiva Share. The digital frame is a great gift idea; you can give a lifetime of memories in photos, in a format sure to please everybody.

Back to my photo...I chose my photo because I look REALLY good in it. I was in a particularly happy time in my life, my hair had just been cut, my makeup was perfect, and it was just me. I shared the video of me sitting on Santa's lap, with my husband and my children. They thought it was as cool as I thought it was.

So go to this site and see what it's like to sit on Santa's lap. Oh, did I tell you what could happen if you do this?  Oh!  I'm sorry! You could win $500 to go toward your list. Isn't that a totallly cute thing to do?
So if you've got a wish then this site is for you!

 

        

I heard the rumor last night, but it was confirmed today.

Our dear friend, Mike, who was Emily's youth pastor at our last church, and whose wife was a God send to me during my surgery last year, has just been named Superintendent of our schools. Mike is an amazing, down to earth, precious man. We've been praying for this for months, and are so thrilled for him and his family! We immediately emailed our congratulations, and in true Brew Crew fashion, got a response from them in just a few minutes. Our schools are going to be even MORE amazing with Mike in charge.

We went to Emily's boyfriend's last wrestling meet today. My daughter gets wrestling. She knew when and how to cheer. She's a veteran by now, because she's been to all of the meets here. I have to say...I was impressed. He's a good athlete! We really get along well with his family. His sister played Matt during last week's chess tournament. His parents are just fun, real people. They just invited us to their house for New Year's Eve. Hot tub, appetizers, good wine and friends. Can't ask for much more than that! AND...we're just blocks from home. We are just not comfortable driving on NYE.

So, there we go. Life's just great! 

        

I love gaming, and if I can find good, quality, FREE games, so much the better!

I just stumbled across Action All Stars. This is a community that reminds me of Webkinz with the safety factor and character driven goals built into the system. Not only that, but the games are modified versions of the fun games you would pay to play in other communities.

When your child  first signs on with Action All Stars, they are prompted to provide your parents' email. What I really like is that you can  determine the amount of personal interaction your child's account. They can either interact completely, or have a pre determined set of phrases to use within the community. This makes me feel very safe when I allow my children to play.

Once the legal stuff is set up and your child is ready to play, they get to choose your avatar, making it look just like your child (or like somebody else, if they prefer). Then you go into different communities such as sand, surf, ski, etc. Within those communities, you choose games to play. Some of them are entertaining skill building games with an educational intent built in. Others are just plain FUN games. There are games that will pique every child's interest.

Since sports are so prevalent in our family, I love the sports background. Whether you have a soccer playing son or a basketball playing daughter, they will definitely be able to play up their sports identity with this gaming site. It encourages kids to be interested and involved in sports.  The game is sponsored by Major League Baseball (ML, the NBA, NFL and more. The avatars play in various arenas and studiums such as Fenway Park, Qualcom Field, and more. The branding is just wonderful, and it encourages your child to become a part of their favorite sports teams.

Visit Action All Stars to sign up your child for an account today. Let them have fun!

        

Darren and I are home from our most fantabulous cruise. There are some things that will NOT be posted on this blog about what happened down there. What happens in Nassau STAYS in Nassau. However, I will be placing some  pics on my Flickr. I will be happy to invite you to view them if you specifically ask, and it won't harm my career aspirations to do so. Let's just say...Valerie is NOT afraid to sing karaoke in a Spanish speaking hole in the alley karaoke bar. Tee heee heeeeeeee

I will also have some pictures here that I can share.

It was really and truly a fabulous trip. Yes, I missed the kiddoes. But honestly? I needed this break from them. I was so happy to snuggle them when I got home, and I thank all of you who stepped in and helped me when the weather got bad.

        

When I first saw the LA Police Gear site, I just knew it was NOT for me. I mean, what do I need with police gear?

Then I started looking through the site, and I have to admit, there is a lot here I would love to own. See, not only does LA Police Gear offer police gear; they also offer lots of merchandise for the outdoors loving family. There is hiking gear, camping gear, footwear, and more. The area that really piqued my interest, though, was Maxpedition Gear . I had no idea what it could possibly be, but the harder I looked, the more wonderful things I found.

For instance, when I'm hiking or geocaching, i often wish I had a quality nylon waste pouch where I could put my logbook, pencil, and small cache items. LA Police Gear has such an item under their Maxpedition Gear! What was particularly interesting is that there are many colors to choose from, so I can still feel somewhat blingy when I geocache. After all, we know how important that is to Ms. Valerie!

There are also great nylon backpacks. I needed one of these when we went on our Mexico Mission Trip. I would have gotten a lot less sand in my undies if I had one of these tough, durable, but lightweight nylon packs.

Every geocacher knows that you don't want to be stranded. High quality packs to hold your cell phone or radio are a much desired item for cachers, and they are offered at LA Police Gear. I won't have to worry about losing my cell phone or radio when I'm using one of these!

What I really want, though, is one of the Expedition Duffels. That would have been amazing for the mission trip, and Matt would definitely be able to use it for Scout Camp next year. I am going to look into getting one of these. i actually saw some on our way back from our recent vacation, and I commented about how cool they are.

For those of us who camp, this website is full of tons of integral gear. Tough flashlights, quality foot gear from companies such as Timberland and Danner, and more are here. This is just a great outdoorsy site.

So if you're the outdoors lubber, like we are, check out LA Police Gear. I guarantee you'll be glad you did!

        

Emily is the cutie flute player at the end of the row. John is the handsome trombone player to the right when I pan.

        

Well, it's come and gone. And I"m another decade older. And you know what? Having that 4 in front of my 0 makes me HAPPY! Seriously! I'm very excited about this decade, and I'm feeling incredibly blessed to have made it this far. I thing God has some amazing things ahead for me, and I am looking forward to continuing my journey.

It was just a special day. My family spoiled me. I got to sub at Emily's school, and better yet, Emily was in my class. I had a good dinner, and a delicious...if not well lit...cake. Yeah...well lit. My ORNERY but lovable hubby put 42 candles on my cake. And I knew it from the start.

The day after tomorrow, I'm going on my cruise. Darren and I are heading to the Bahamas for some fun and sun. Most appropriate...it's snowing and icing like crazy today. Yeah, I'm cherishing thoughts of ocean and beach!  Oh, and rum LOL

        

50,359 words in 30 days.  WHEW!

        

Earlier this year, I posted about personalized flash drives. I thought it would make a fantastic gift, and BOY was I right!  They are very popular gifts.

Today, I went back to order some personalized flash drives as Christmas gifts, and I found out they are having a 40% off sale for Black Friday, and that the prices are good STARTING TODAY!  I ordered 10 1 gb flash drives, and spent only $80.69  INCLUDING SHIPPING! 

This is the link from my previous post. You may also click the purple "Support my sponsor" button on the left side of my blog to order. If you're looking for cool tech-y presents for the teens in your life, a unique teacher appreciation gift, or fabulous stocking stuffers, these flash drives should be on your shopping list!