Chatbug Karen

My sister was so surprised to find that I have been here in Florida for almost a week without visiting a quilt shop. Well, I have been busy getting used to the area and honestly forgot about quilting. That is so unlike me! Well, I have not been thinking about herpes simplex or anything thought provoking, I have been relaxing! I love having someone else picking out the places she wants to show me. That is what vacation should be about. Mindless travel, right? Anyway, today we will be finding two quilt shops! I’ll be back to let you in on how they fared compared to the shops at home. Have a great day everyone! Oh, and it is a bright sunny day today! Woo hoo! Love it.

I have a few friends who are teachers and they are looking forward to winter break. I envy them! One friend is traveling to Minnesota to visit with her husband’s family and share Christmas together. They are a very dysfunctional family and my friend always has funny stories to share.

If I had a week off, I hope I would get back into my exercise routine. I hear that the dip machine misses me. LOL Seriously, if I had a few days off from work, I think I would travel a little. Maybe visit my son or go down south to see what my sister is up to.

What are your plans this holiday season?

One of the nicest vacations I had was when I visited Branson, Missouri. Branson is the live music show capital of the world. When I was there, I saw the Osmonds, Andy Williams and Yakov Smirnoff. Here is a picture of Andy Williams singing to my mother in-law. I thought she would never wash her hand! LOL

They were great shows. I loved the small theater feeling. The theaters weren’t actually small but they were able to give the feeling that the performers were singing directly to me! Branson is so easy to get around so there isn’t the congested feeling you get in some touristy places.

The best way to have a great time in Branson is to park your belongings at a wonderful hotel like the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. Their Winter Escape Package will help you get through the dreary winter months. They will treat you so much like royalty that you won’t even care what the weather is doing back home. Their Annual Ice Carving festival is something to see and who knows, you might decide to participate in the 2009 Polar Plunge! This yearly event raises money for children and adults with mental disabilities.

The Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is near everything you want to see. I especially enjoyed checking out the outlet mall shops. I stocked up on shorts and drooled over those “name brand purses”. You will love the delicious food at the restaurants in Branson. Branson has something for everyone.

I don’t know how we lived without cell phones. I am so glad my kids gave me a heads up about free razr phones from www.bestincellphones.com because I love my skinny little phone. I carried it in my pocket the whole time we traveled. It was with me in every restaurant and in every outlet store. I would leave my purse in the car but I always had my phone on me.

While on vacation, we were all in different parts of Pigeon Forge. We had five vehicles between all of us. One of us might be traveling down the road and discover the car was almost out of gas. It was easy for that driver to use their T-Mobile phones to let the other cars know where they would be filling their tank. We used our cell phones to find the best barbecue restaurants and sent the guys ahead to reserve a table. We could not stand to waste any time standing in line. During the flea market, we used our cell phones to check on prices of knock off brand sunglasses and to tell the others to get over to that booth right away. LOL

Friends here at home, use their Nextel phones as a way to get together on their lunch breaks. It is unbelievable how cell phones have made our lives so much easier. We have gotten smarter since first carrying around those heavy bag phones. Now we check www.bestincellphones.com for the best deals on all brands of phones including the best best AT&T cell phone deals. www.bestincellphones.com is having their best summer sale ever. Don’t think you are going to get the best deal just because your phone contract is up. Do some checking online and get the best deal you can. You will be amazed at the money you can save.

We made it home from our vacation late this evening. I am very tired and so I will not begin to tell you about our wonderful trip. I just want to tell you why I blog. This week, as I was with family, it hit me that I cannot remember the dates of when we did things together. My blog gives me a record of those times. I can read back through my blog and know when we went to each place. For instance, Lynn and I were trying to remember when we went to French Lick. I only need to check the archives on my travel blog and wahlah! I am able to pinpoint the date. Reading the post reminds me of what we saw and I am able to enjoy the trip all over again. Just as I blogged about French Lick, I will blog about our trip to the Smoky Mountains. Then, next month or when I am old and feeble, I will be able to reminisce through my posts. Ain’t the Internet grand!

When I saw the email that said FREE GAS, I opened that baby to see how that could happen. Through MyPoints, of which I have been a member for many years, you can join a program called RewardTV. Through RewardTV you have the chance to win 3 years worth of gas. You get a free entry into the Free Gas Sweepstakes when you play a RewardTV game. You can also win DVD players, cash, electronics and vacation packages. Wow!