Dream A Little Dream

When you were a kid, did you ever dream about what you would be when you grew up, or the places you would go?  The other night I read the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh The Places You Will Go" to my son before bedtime.  I received this book from my parents for my college graduation and it has been a favorite of mine ever since.  Do you ever find that when you read a book out loud it suddenly has more of an impact?  I couldn't help but think of all the dreams I had when I was a kid.  Some have come true, some have faded with time, and some are still out there waiting for their time to shine.  I remember when I was in elementary school, a friend of mine and I would sit and talk about how we would become "famous".  I would become a singer and she would be an actress.  We would talk about it for hours at a time and would daydream often about it.  In every yearbook, our entries always ended with, "See you in Hollywood."  Needless to say, my singing took a big backseat in college and has now been reduced to singing lullaby's, nursery rhymes, and to myself in the car.  As for my friend, she's not in Hollywood yet, but who knows.  Maybe she'll make it there some day.
Another dream I had was to travel, A LOT.  I've traveled to a few places that I've always wanted to go, but I still have a long way to go.  I believe that the reason I haven't traveled to those places yet is because I'm meant to experience them with my husband and child(ren) and I'm looking forward to those trips in the future.  But one of the main dreams I had as a kid was to help people.  It didn't matter how, but I just wanted to help people in anyway I could.  This is still something that I seek out on a daily basis.  Working for such an incredibly wonderful company allows me to do what I can to help others through charitable events, food drives and volunteering.  I'm looking forward to doing all that I can to help others and plan on having my family participate in more volunteering projects throughout the year.
I often think about what my sons dreams will be.  Will he be as interested in music as I am or as interested in sports as my husband?  Will he love both?  Will he want to travel?  I hope to be the mom that he can count on for advice and who he knows he can come to for anything.  I am looking forward to watching him grow and watching him live out his dreams.  I'm doing my best to continue to learn as much a I can so that if he ever has any questions, I'll be able to answer them.  That's something that I have learned from my mother.  Somehow she always knows everything.  No matter what I ask, she always has the answer.  It is a dream of mine to be as great of a mother as she is to my sister and I.  That dream will always be a work in progress since the greatness she exudes is something that is not easily attainable and will require constant work and perseverance.
Do you remember dreams that you had as a child?  Are there dreams that you're still working towards?  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Christmas in July

Have you been seeing all of the sales for Christmas in July lately?  There are some incredible sales out there!  So good, that it might be a great time to stock up on some amazing Christmas presents now.  It could possibly keep you from having to battle the crowds at the mall on Black Friday.  Although I haven't been very good at planning ahead for Christmas in the past, I plan on being ambitious this year and will buy my presents throughout the year, instead of all at once around the holidays.  I think it's a little easier on my wallet if I spread it out over time as well.  So it's a win win situation.  Disney has some incredible sales around this time online, as well as Personal Creations.  I've also come across some great deals on snapfish.com and many sites that have one day sales like onekingslane.com, ruelala.com, and many others.  Take advantage of all that these summer sales have to offer.  Some sites like Gap.com are having sales on their spring line so you could get some great items at bargain prices.  And don't forget to use your coupons.  Some sites, like Bill Me Later, have a cash back option for their participating merchants, where when you make a purchase they'll give you a portion of it back!  
Have you come across any great sales that you'd like to share?  Do you do your Christmas shopping throughout the year, or get it all done around the holidays?  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.