Christmas Lights in July!

In just a couple more days I hop on a plane headed for Conroe, Texas (Houston area) to meet people who like Christmas Lights as much and even more than me! I know can you believe it? There are people like me out there? People who think about Christmas lights, Christmas music, Christmas anything in the middle of July and all year long. The best thing about these people? They don't look at me with a glazed over "OMG, here she goes again..." look on their faces. Nor do they politely smile at me and nod as if I was a mental patient on the edge... LOL!! :-)

I chat with about 50 to 100 of my Christmas friends every day on online Forums for Christmas Light decorators from all over the world. We talk about how to make things for our displays, the best and coolest lighting products that we use, our favorite Christmas music, share pictures and videos of our displays, help each other out with our displays, help the new people who just crossed over to the bright side with their display questions... and everything that a great community of people with a common life experience do.

It truly is a community of its own. So many different kids of people from all walks of life with the one common thing. It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, how much money you don't make, what your family status is, what your culture is, all we want to talk about is Christmas! Of course we throw in the personal stories and jokes and important moments in our lives here and there that have nothing to with Christmas, but that is for the sake of getting to know each other better.

I love all my online Christmas friends! I love them even more when I get to meet them in person. In California because of the new Christmas Lights Community chapter that Chris and I started here, I have been able to meet probably close to 150 people in CA that decorate for Christmas. They are all very supportive of one another and are so willing to share what they have learned and what they do with their lights. It is totally awesome!

So now I am off to meet my friends who live in Texas and some others who are traveling in from other states too to learn about the ins and outs of Christmas Light decorating. I will even be able (like at any other Conference) to meet and make special purchases from specialty Christmas Lights vendors. You all know how I LOVE to shop! So this will be a fun experience for me too!

Anyway, I know this is long, but I am REALLY, REALLY, REALLY Excited about this Workshop and meeting my friends!

I will let you know when I get back about what I did and learned. Hopefully a few pictures too!

Like this one here that I took at the BBQ/workshop that I went to in Stockton, CA last month.

This week she was a MERMAID!

OMG! Lilly and I are having all kinds of fun with her new "Princess Dance Class" at Miss Sue's Dance! She LOVES her teacher and her new "Dance" friends! This week was Little Mermaid week, so they wore the Little Mermaid costumes while they learned new dance moves. Of course I had to create a music video of her! http://youtube.com/watch?v=a4PL4TWceVg

Lilly's First Dance Class

As if being a "Princess" for a day wasn't enough, we lucked out in discovering a "Princess Dance Class" at a new dance studio in Temecula (Miss Sue's Dance). Lilly had her first lesson and crown making yesterday. She has been on top of the Moon ever since!

She has been living in her new ballet slippers and leotard set that we went to pick up after school yesterday. She also has new tap shoes! OMG! SHE is in love with tapping! Ha Ha Ha! Her Dad is already going insane by the noise -LOL! ;-) But she is so dog gone cute about it all, who could possibly begrudge her of her joy?

I captures a little video to share with you all and put in the YouTube ;-) You will have to mute the sound though, there were some mom's next to me who were talking next to my mic. Here it is:

Princess for a Day (or 2 or 3...)

We went along with Daddy to Anaheim, Ca for a few days. While he worked we played! :-) We went to the Santa Ana Zoo (yeah they have a zoo there), Adventure City (a super fun, super Cheap place to take kids under the age of 12 to ride all kinds of rides). Then we finally talked Dad into letting us go to Disneyland.

For our kids Disneyland is the most magical place on earth. For Lilly that is now even more so that it was before. Especially now that we discovered the "Princess Pavilion". All day we kept seeing little girls everywhere dressed up as Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella and Snow White... and hearing all kinds of good advice that we should take our girls to the "Princess Pavilion". So finally I talked my 15 year old son into finding it and hanging out in a REALLY long line for it, not knowing at all WHAT we were waiting for. Turns out we were waiting to meet a few princesses and have our pictures taken with them ahhhh! However there was also a really fun interactive show with other Princess Characters that we got to do too.

Afterward we were shown the "Princess Makeover" area... uh, oh!... Daddy is going to poop his pants when he sees the bill. Anyway how could I resist to give Lilly her very dream to become a "Princess". It was like she completely transformed right in front of our eyes. Even her brother was impressed with how different she became, from the inside and out. She carried herself differently and had a the most fun and sparkley personality to match her sparkle dress and makeup. Everywhere we went people noticed her and thought she really looked like a princess. She loved the attention!

Now three days later and she hasn't taken the dress off except to sleep or bathe. She says she feels pretty in the dress and like a princess. I think it is so cute to see her face light up just at the thought of her experience at Disneyland and being a "real" princess.

I am so happy that she had her dreams come true.