Guest post written by Derick Burks

I used my Jonesboro 4g to check out the Tumblr website. I have been hearing “Tumblr” and seeing blogs with “Tumblr” in their web address pinned all over Pintrest. I heard my sister talk about it before, but really didn’t know what it was. After checking out the website, I decided to join and am glad that I did. It is really pretty fun. It makes it easy for you to create your own blogand follow the blogs of people that have similar interests to your own. It shows you the popular posts for the day and also lets you search anything you wish. There is such a wide variety of different Tumblr blogs, most of which have themes. I looked in the history section and found a blog on “Monarchies of the World”. I have actually really enjoyed checking it and brushing up on history. I just need to be careful that I don’t start wasting all of my time on Tumblr and start getting more work done. Maybe I can just think of my time on Tumblr as creative research for the next book that I am writing?

We’re having a baby!! I’m soooo excited. I can’t wait to start showing, and to fix up the nursery. I’m already daydreaming about filling my ipod touch 32g with classical music for the baby to listen to in utero. It’s going to be such an incredible time. Luckily I haven’t had too much morning sickness yet, just a mild queasy stomach. Hopefully it stays that way!

Wow, where did January go? I can’t believe we’re over halfway through the month already. February is fast approaching and I feel so unprepared. The Hubs’ birthday is coming up, followed quickly by Valentine’s Day. I have no clue what to get him for either holiday. I know Red Envelope has all kinds of great one of a kind gifts, like boston redsox cufflinks, or those great catch alls that would be perfect for his dresser. I’m sure I’ll come up with something!

The Hubs and I still have made no concrete vacation plans. We have been diligently saving up for a down payment on a house and that has taken priority over a vacation. In an ideal world we would be able to do both and we wouldn’t be strapped for cash. If I had may way we’d look into  celebrity cruises and relaxing on a boat touring around. My ideal cruise spot would be going to Alaska, but I wouldn’t turn down a trip to the Carribean either!

I love the idea of taking an all inclusive cruise, where we wouldn’t have to worry about costs from the minute we board. Everyone that I know that has taken a cruise has loved it, and Celebrity cruises have a great reputation. I’m sure the food would be delicious, the activities fun and the destinations amazing. While I don’t think we’ll have the funds to go this year, that doesn’t mean our honeymoon can’t be belated. My goal is just to be able to go on one trip before we have children. Not that our life will end after kids, but priorities change when you become parents. Now is the time for us to get out there and travel. Hopefully we take advantage of it soon!

I’ve been working on a dvd slideshow for the Hubs for his academy graduation. The video he bought from the ceremony was cool, and then I took the video clips and pictures captured by a fellow classmate and added them to the video. He’d made a video but it was terrible so I did my own version which turned out a lot better, if I do say so myself. I’m all finished with everything but the music.

I’ve been searching everywhere for a website for free mp3 downloads,  and maybe a free internet radio station  and free band promotion for inspiration. Coming up with good song choices is the hardest part of a slideshow I think. I ended up stumbling across http://www.tweewoo.com and they have all kinds of great mp3s to download. I like that they don’t just have mainstream music but bands I hadn’t heard of before. It’s always nice to expand my music playlists and discover new music that interests me.

For all you music buffs out there I highly recommend you check it out. They also have a place to upload your own music if you’re part of a band or a musician and you can track who’s listening to your music. It’s a cool site and I definitely see it catching on.

I am in desperate need of nineapair cheap sunglasses. I have these horribly goofy giant sunglasses that are prescription that I need for driving, but they are my only sunglasses so I wear them everywhere. They look ridiculous on my small face and I really need just a cheap pair of sunglasses that look cute on me. My hubby says my glasses make me look like a frog. Just what every girl wants right?

I only took two days off for Christmas, but it made for a nice long weekend. It’s so hard coming back to reality after the holidays. I had such a nice time with the in-laws this year. We spent Christmas Eve relaxing by the fire, listening to music and watching the dogs play and be silly. When we got to their house, we immediately turned off our cell phones and just had the perfect, unplugged, destressed weekend. We received so many wonderful gifts from my Hubs’ parents. Among them was a great book, A Survival Guide. It has all kinds of illustrations and different scenarios where you might need to know a few things. Starting a fire from scratch, how to roll properly in a kayak. What plants are safe to eat and what to stay away from. It’s a great read and a really fun gift idea! We received a lot of other fun gifts, and the best will be here next week: a BBQ complete with a rotisserie! I cannot wait to put it to good use.

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? I wish that my Mom’s side of the family would just hurry up and get along already. We’ve got a few members fighting with each other and it puts a real damper on Christmas. Also, I really wish my brother would get his life straightened out. That would be a Christmas miracle.

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition? Christmas morning we open stockings first, then presents, one by one so everyone can see. This year we are going to the in-laws, so Hubby and I may do our Christmas the night before.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? A honeymoon with my Husband, somewhere luxurious.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? I love to make things. This year I painted a sign for our front door for Christmas. I’m also hand painting ornaments.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? We played lots of board games, especially Sorry and Yatzee. Also card games.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Driving around to look at the neighborhood lights. That’s always been special for me. Actually now we walk, but it’s the same idea.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip? Well, I’d probably go north to Oregon to see my parents and go home, ha. My home is now in California, so it’d be an out of town trip. I wish I could be there and with my in-laws at the same time.

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? An XBox360, The Kinect, and Mario Party for Wii.

So here we are, now living in our house an entire month and we have only had two visitors. We’ve got all of these beautiful entertaining and serving ware including beautiful plates, appetizer platters and matouk napkins and place mats, and no one to serve. I would love to host a dinner party but it’s a long way to ask people to travel. Hopefully we’ll start making new friends here that won’t be driving far.

I can’t believe I’m married! I get to celebrate an actual wedding anniversary now instead of just a dating anniversary. How cool is that? I love that each year there is a theme for the gift. Maybe I’ll go the humor route the first year and do paper roses like these.

I could probably keep that up each year, even for the 5th anniversary gifts like a wooden sculpture or something. I’m hoping to get D something really memorable for the first year. Hopefully we’ll get to take a honeymoon before then though. That’d be the best gift of all!