I haven't really looked into trying to compare life insurance since I looked at insurance for my car, but I was talking to a friend today who is my age and has fibromyalgia. She said that she has life insurance so that in the event that something serious happens to her, her little girl will be taken care of. It's such a scary thought to think about at my age, but I guess it is pretty necessary. Especially if you have family.

I love blinds & shades. I really do. I love being able to sit in my living room with my blinds down and listen to people walk by and know they can't see me. I know it's silly. I know that it makes no sense. But every time someone walks by and I'm sitting here, in my pajamas, I giggle to myself and go "You can't see me." I really have no idea why. Probably so many years of not having blinds or shades in my living room. It's soo nice though. Really.

Looking into rings lately led me to looking at wholesale diamonds. It is a great, less expensive way to get a diamond ring. You can buy a wholesale, loose diamond and then a ring and have a jeweler put the diamond in the ring for you. I think that it would be cheaper overall to do it that way than to buy the diamonds from the jewelry stores. They always have things marked up. Of course they do though.. They have to make money! It is a business afterall.

I like to buy my gifts early. So after one gift-buying season ends, I'm already looking ahead for the next. I don't like to do that last minute because I am admittedly cheap and like to spend very little on gifts. Searching for a gift for my Mother led me to find this murano heart necklace at RedEnvelope. It reminds me a little of my heart necklace that Spencer bought me last year. I really love that necklace, even though the chain just broke. This necklace looks really pretty and even though my Mother is allergic to some types of metal, I think this would be a great gift idea for her.

When S was going in and doing interviews for different jobs, he always wore a suit. I have to tell you something - he looks hot in a suit. Seriously. I think he was a little self conscious but whoa. He looked super sexy. He wasn't wearing any bow ties but instead was wearing a neck tie but he still looked so hot. I don't know what it is about a guy in a suit but he looked so spiffy. Bow tie, neck tie, no tie - just give me that man in a suit!

Here's a good question for you guys: do you or have you ever made a personalized gift? There are some great websites popping up with personalized christmas gifts. I was also listening to a radio show the other day and the female personality was talking about how she had just made this personalized pair of shoes for her husband. She was so proud of them and he loved them because they were made by her. I thought it was a really sweet gift and it shows that you're really thinking of that person when picking out their gift. You can't just go to the store and grab some random thing. I like that personalized gifts require a lot more thought than just a regular ol' store-bought gift.

In just about two months, it'll be Halloween! I'm looking forward to taking Corbin somewhere down here in Texas but I just don't know where to take him. I'm pretty sure his school will do some kind of Halloween celebration type thing so I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately, as a single parent, I don't have an opportunity to go out to a party and wear sexy costumes but I love to look at them anyways. There are so many cute little costumes that I hope to be able to wear somewhere - even if it's my own bedroom!

My schedule at work has been leveling out since we lost a few people here and there. With Mom picking up some more hours and being groomed as a Lead, that means that we both have more consistent and predictable hours. She's usually working the days that I don't. It's wonderful! Between that, Corbin going back to school and me continuing my Online Schooling - things are just busybusybusy! I have to keep right on top of everything or I end up falling behind. It's been nice though. I prefer scheduling than sitting around having nothing to do all day!

Corbin is in that stage of "Just one more, please". Just one more book, one more snack, one more cookie... Just one more, please. At the very least, I have taught him well enough to say please every time. Though I wonder if he doesn't do it because he knows it melts my heart. He'll give me the cutest grin and just say in the sweetest little boy voice, "Just one more, Mommy, pleeeeassseeee." And I'm torn between giving in and telling him no. He's got a fifty/fifty chance at this point. I'm trying to be more resilient!

We are only about two shopping seasons from Christmas! We've just got what, back-to-school shopping and then Thanksgiving to go through. I guess Halloween is in between as well but I don't know if that is a major shopping holiday. Other than marking Corbin's fifth birthday and the mass purchasing of many C7 led christmas lights, it also marks us being in Texas for an entire year. How exciting is that? I'm pretty excited. I love it down here. The summer is a little hotter than I'd like but not nearly as humid as Iowa. So yeah, I'm oddly excited about Christmas this year. So many milestones.