Christmas in the Valley

I know, I know.... I've desperately failed on this blog over the past year! I feel sort of guilty even using it as a platform to advertise the event... =) A quick update... we are all doing GREAT! Staying busy, loving life, and doing a little bit of everything! Allie is 3 and Pierce just turned 2! We moved over the summer! It was INSANE to say the least, but we are so happy and blessed to be settled in our new house, which just happens to be across the street from my sis and around the corner from my mom! We had an amazing realtor who sold our Cordova house in less than 2 weeks, so it really was crazy and definitely confirmed that it was time to go! 

I mostly update on our day to day things on facebook, and just haven't found the time or inspiration to keep up the blog! Maybe one day I'll venture back... Until then, I wanted to be sure and tell you about this year's Christmas in the Valley! It's going to be October 20th at my mom's (4822 Valley Birch Drive - Arlington) and it is going to be AMAZING! We've got picture frames, JEWELRY, makeup, spa products, Christmas decor, kids clothes, TONS of gift items, a photographer, stationery/Christmas cards, and MUCH MORE! I may even be crazy enough to be doing a little crafting myself, along with selling some jewelry! So, be sure to mark your calendars and come on out to say hi! 

Disney World!

The Monster...

I think I have slightly created a disney monster in our house the last couple of days. Let me explain. She got this minnie suitcase for Christmas in preparation for our upcoming trip to Disney World! Well, she truly does LOVE all things Disney, but being only 2 doesn't have any idea what Disney World is. Wait. Let me back up. Up until about 6 days ago didn't have any idea what Disney World was....

So, naturally once we booked our trip, I decided, well it's only a month out, I should start telling her what it is, so she'll get excited. Thus, the monster was born.

She is a big fan of You Tube videos (under STRICT supervision, I assure you..) You know, itsy bitsy spider, Jesus Loves Me, Wheels on the Bus, Repunzel songs, that sort of thing. So, I thought, well I'll just pull up a Disney World video to show her what it is and tell her we're going soon.

Gone are the days of watching songs on the iPad. Her "recently watched list" now is filled with Disney World, an overview; riding the tea cups; small world; meeting the characters; and on and on. You get the drift. Before bed each night, it's I want to cuddle... and watch the ipad.

So, I started to realize there was a problem when we woke up for church Sunday and I said alright, Allie, let's go to Crossroads Church (her normal response being YAY!) This time, it was however replaced with... No, it's time to go to Disney World! In fact, every outing since then has had a similar response (wake up in the morning... "alright time to go to Disney World!", or from naptime, "let's go... time for Disney World" or do you want to go to the mall, Jannie's, Mimi's, etc.... "Um... no, let's go to Disney!".

I thought up (what I thought was) a great solution. Let's mark each morning with a sticker. I showed her the day on the calendar we're leaving and said, ok we'll put one on each morning, and when we get to this day, we're going on the big airplane to disney world!

I came to find the chair moved up to the calendar this morning with a calendar full of stickers... her response: "Alright, now it's time for DISNEY!!"

Hmm...

Oh yeah... and see that little airplane in her hands? She put it on the floor last night and squatted down on top of it and said, "Ok... let's get on the big airplane and go to Disney!!!"

Suffice it to say, she is VERY excited about the trip. Now let's hope the rest of us can get through the next 4 weeks with our little monster princess on hand!

A New Year; A New Challenge

Well... as my blog quite clearly shows... after Christmas in the Valley had come and gone, I was exhausted! We had A LOT going on, and I decided to slow down a bit. No blogging; very little jewelry business action; etc. I just wanted to stop and enjoy the Holidays with the kids and hubby. And, we sure did! It was nice, relaxing (I mean, as relaxing as Christmas with 3 stops in one day can be), and VERY enjoyable! We squeezed lots of fun activities in, which included a trip to Nashville as well as some fun activities around here. We baked, we shopped, we ate. I even managed to squeeze in time to read 3 books (the hunger games series), which is quite the luxery for me. We had fun.

Today I feel like it's the first day in a while where my goal is to be productive. It's nice, let me tell you, living for a month with very little hanging over your head to do or get done, and I can't say I didn't like it. I do however, have some things I'd like to actually do. So, here's to a productive "naptime" today!

I know that New Year's brings the dreaded or sometimes anticipated New Year's resolutions, I suppose depending who you are. Never really been for me. In fact, I can't say I've ever made one. My sister, however, things it's the sort of thing that makes for a fun New Year's Eve party... everyone write their goals, and then let's share em... To each his own, I suppose.

But, no matter which category you fall into, it is inevitably the time of year that people begin to think about cracking down on the sweets and stepping up their workout routines. With the holidays and all the goodies that come with that, it's an ever present reminder that we need a "fresh start". So, in light of that, my mom has asked me to continue the birthday present I gave to her (running the weight loss contest) for some extra motivation. She lost over 35 lbs in 5 months and is looking incredible! Everyone loved the accountability, fun, and competition that was involved. I mean, when money is involved, it makes everything just a little bit more motivating, right?

So, we are going to do a month by month contest. Each person who wants to participate each month will pay $20. Half will go to me for running it; Half will go into the prize pool. So, you can do the math.. 10 participants = a $100 monthly prize, etc. Each person will CONFIDENTIALLY report their weight to me each Friday of the month. I will convert the #'s to weight loss percentage and report once halfway through the month, so you know where you stand, and once more on the final weigh day of the month. The person with the highest weight loss percentage wins the prize $. Since the numbers are reported to weight loss percentage, this contest is for anyone needing to lose 5 lbs or 50! If you'd like more info about it, you can email me at rachelgkendall@yahoo.com. This month's contest will begin THIS FRIDAY (January 6).

You're Invited!

I hope you're all able to make it to this year's Christmas in the Valley! It really is going to be the best one yet!!! I simply can't wait. And, if you haven't done so already, be sure to go enter the GIVEAWAY! There are lots of ways to do it, but I'd really appreciate if my fellow blogging friends would share about the event on your blogs... then you have an entry to win! This will help us spread the word, and hopefully help you win some goodies! =)

c in the v flyer 2011