Being the step-daughter of a man who not only plays but also builds, repairs, and modifies guitars, I really thought by know Olivia would have mentioned wanting to learn how to play guitar - I mean, for as long as I can remember she had a guitar in her hands.



See? Definitely always needed lessons!

A few years ago I decided to purchase a nice amateur level digital camera. I have always been interested in art and photography so I thought now that the technology is slightly more affordable I would go ahead and give it a shot. Did you see what I did there? Pun fully intended. Now that I have been shooting for about three years and my skills have gotten much better over time I started wanting to get newer gear and better lenses and then my friends started asking me to take pictures of their families. As it turns out I am pretty good at this thing!

I started my own business about six months ago and have since grown out of my little home office. I decided I needed to open my own photography studio. I needed somewhere professional where I could bring my clients for meetings and shoots. I found a lovely place in my favorite part of the city and started working out the budget. Did you know you can Get business electricity rates in Coppell? I sure didn’t. That is one thing that will be a big help for me when I am cranking the air conditioning in the summer!

Many parents find themselves struggling to get things together when their second child is on the way. You usually end up reusing a lot of stuff that belonged to your first child such as their crib and clothes. One thing many parents don't think right away is a child stroller. If your first child is still young enough to use a stroller, and many children use them up until ages 5 and 6, what are your options for taking your children out with you?

A lot of parents immediately turn to one of two options. The first is bringing two baby strollers with them. This works fine if both parents are going out together, but this makes it tough for one parent to take the children anywhere. The other option is a double stroller. These do work great and there are many options, but because one child will be much older and therefor much heavier, it can be tough to push when it is off balance. The older child may also want to get in and out as they get energetic or tire themselves out which makes the entire trip more exhausting.

Another option many do not know about is the standing stroller. This is great for parents with a toddler and a younger child. It is a double stroller but rather than two seats there is a seat in the front for the younger child, or a way to secure an infant, and in the back is an are where the toddler can safely stand and hold onto a bar. There is also a bench the child can sit on when they get tired. This is a wonderful option for parents with children of different ages and can make every trip out with the kids just a little less stressful.

This two look innocent and fun loving, don't they? Well, don't let 'em fool ya, they are dangerously destructive when they are bored!


They love trains and cars. They have a train set so now I am contemplating model cars for them. The lindberg models are really cool but CJ would have to be willing to work on these model cars with them. Could be a fun father/sons winter project!

The kids have spring fever because this Winter has been mild so far. They are not getting back to Disney World until October so they are going through pool withdraw I guess. Why? Well, because they have been bugging CJ and me to put a pool in the yard.

I would love to, however, there is so much maintenance involved, not to mention all the things that could go wrong. Problems with filters, replacing the swimming pool pump, and even chemical nightmares.

I really don't think I am ready for that responsibility. If you ave a pool, what kind? Give me some pros/cons please.

Things got rocky, job-wise, and CJ made the decision to quit his full time freelance writing gig and head back into the workforce. He landed at job at Martin Guitars but through a temp. agency, so there is no guarantee of a permanent position.

We knew we would have to make some changes because we still wanted our adults only 'DisneyMoon' in March. I mean, I had already started looking for my bass shoes & coupons as well as a new bathing suit!

To save money, we made the decision to cancel our stay at the Polynesian and use DVC points for our March stay. This breaks my heart cause I LOVE the Polynesian but financially, it just made sense.

We are going to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House. We stayed there in June and liked it a lot. We had a pool view:




In March we got a Savanna view. This should be interesting. So many people rave about the view and being able to wake up in the morning seeing animals roaming around.