New Beginnings this Christmas Season

I've noticed that there are several bloggers (including myself) that are doing the Christmas traditions a little different this year. If some of you bloggers out there are looking for something creative to do... I just might have the idea for you. I believe that there are too many children out there that really think Christmas is about the presents, money, and Santa. They expect the expensive gifts and aren't happy with anything less. (I personally know kids this way.) I refuse to let my child think this way. That is why we are changing things up a bit.

On Christmas Eve, the family will come together in the kitchen and bake cake. This cake can/will be decorated in any way my Princess wants. We're adding sprinkles and candles this year. On the top, it will read, "Happy Birthday Jesus." I'm hoping this will help my daughter see that Christmas is for Jesus. Not for the gifts.

On Christmas Day, she will open three gifts. Yep, that's it. Three. We aren't going all out this year. I feel our daughter was becoming all about the presents. I don't want that. Jesus had three gifts brought to him from the three wise men and that's going to be good enough for my child. Afterward, we will visit our family and have dinner. The entire family will gather around the cake we baked the night before and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. This way all children in our family will see the reason for Christmas.

If you like this idea, use it. I'd love to hear your Christmas ideas for this year. Thanks for reading.

Takes some getting used to.... is... an under statement...

Just to refresh every one's memory or update the new readers, I had oral surgery on the 14th of November. The surgery went well though the surgeon did say it was a tough surgery. The first two days weren't really much for me because I was off in la la land.

About the third day after my surgery, I got up and began being part of the world again. I could only be up out of bed for a few minutes at a time because I kept getting light headed. One thing I hated up to this point was having to rinse with warm salt water. I just hate the taste of plain salt. On the third day, I ventured a car ride to my mother's for the weekend. This was rough. I kept getting car sick.

Once I got to Mom's and she helped me get comfortable.. it wasn't too bad. I must say I don't know what I would have done if my mom wasn't right beside me for this ride. She made sure I was taken care of as well as my daughter. I must say she did an awesome job.

Now I just hit the two week mark. I'm feeling a lot better than what I was. I'm pretty much back to the same routine I had. But I'm fighting to get back on schedule. All the sleep caused me to fall out of my normal routine.

My daughter, which is 5, helped me out a lot. She was always trying to help in some way. She even went to the extent of asking my grand-mother if she was going to give her false teeth to her mommy one morning while my grand-mother was doing her morning routine. (I had to share this.)

Today was the first day where the swelling in my face went down a lot. I was actually able to talk. I'm praying that it continues to go and stay down. I hate the swelling. It makes it so much more hard to talk.

I can say that having no teeth is life changing and hard to adjust to. I keep finding myself trying to eat foods without thinking. I never had to deal with not being able to chew up food. It's tough. Psychologically it's hard. I'm 24 years old without my real teeth. Takes a lot to say that for me. I know deep inside it's for the best but it's still hard to believe I have no teeth.

In reality, I know every thing will work out in the end and my health will be much better. I'll even be able to use my college degree and FINALLY work. Now that's exciting.

I want to thank all of my reader's who have followed my journey so far and I want to thank all of you who are reading this right now.

Isn't he beautiful....

I'm a very proud aunt of four nieces and one nephew.... don't get me wrong I love them all... but there's just something about my nephew that makes me smile each and every time I look at this adorable face.... don't you agree??

Wordpress vs Blogger

It came to my attention that on Blogger, a blog can be disabled at anytime. I don't like the idea of this. So, I decided to check out Wordpress to see if it was an option for me. As I was looking through Wordpress, I came to the conclusion that it seems very confusing.

I imported one of my blogs from blogger to wordpress. It seems just the titles were imported. Therefore, in order to get each of my posts on word press... I'd have to manually transfer them. Then, I came up to a situation where I have a home video posted on Blogger. Wordpress won't let free accounts to add video's. This is a bummer.

So, all you wordpress users out there.... can you give me some tips for a new wordpress user? I'd love to have a nice background and fonts... but this too looks to be only for those who pay. :-/

Perhaps someone can help me out here and tell me some tips on making this easier. I don't want to loose my blog. Therefore, I'd love to make my own rules by purchasing my own domain and what-not after the holidays.

Ok... get those idea's coming... I'm feeling very over-whelmed here.

Blog Lovin- Find me there

Follow'>http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3236304/raebeths-corner?claim=zd6uzcaywka">Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Google Friend Connect to be retired soon.....

I've gotten word and even seen the announcement made by google that the Google Friend Connect widget will soon be retired for non-Blogger sites. What's your thoughts on this?

This is due to be happening in March. Here's the article:

Google Gives Up GFC

So Excited!!!!!!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I'm excited to be with my family and enjoy our time together. I'm thankful for a wonderful family who's been there for me during this surgery and recovery. What are you thankful for?

Carrying on our tradition of The Nutcracker

Guest post written by Carol Thompson

Years ago when my daughter was just four, we decided to take her to see the Nutcracker as part of her Christmas present. Well, we decided to continue that tradition by going and seeing the ballet every year that we could. There were a few years when money was tight and we couldn't really afford to do that. But we've continued that tradition over the years and I look forward to that almost as much as exchanging presents.

This year was no different and I went online to order the tickets like I always do. While I was online doing that, I ran across the website hearingaids.miracle-ear.com and after I looked through it a little bit, I thought that I would give myself the gift of hearing aids as an early Christmas present.

I can't wait for us to go and see The Nutcracker this year, especially because of the early Christmas present that I gave myself! But also because this is the first time that my daughter's new husband will be joining us! I think it will be a special visit to the ballet.

My Progress So Far

I hope this post finds everyone doing well. I know it's been a while but with good reason. The surgery went great. My hubby and Mom both said the surgeon did an awesome job. So far there's no bruising. The pain is really more described as discomfort. It's definitely different. I'll say one thing... you don't realize how much in life you take for granted until you go through something like this. Eating has definitely been a task.

My Mom has been through every step of the way which I think made it much easier to deal with. (Mom always makes it better, right?) Hopefully, I'll be back to reviews and giveaways very soon. As well as my normal posting. Trying to focus on me at the moment and getting back to my normal self.

I want to thank everyone who's given me an encouraging email or comment. Love reading them and yes they do help. So once again Thank you.

Well, I'm off to bed. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll see you again soon. Until then, take care and in case I'm not back by then.... Happy Thanksgiving.

Guest Bloggers Needed

Hello,

I'm interested in having five guest bloggers here on my blog for next week. I'd love it if some of those whitty, outspoken Women out there would join me here at RaeBeth's Corner. I'll be having surgery on Monday and would love to have a few awesome people join me. If interested, please email me at raebethmcgee (at) hotmail (dot) com

Can't wait to hear from you!!!!

The Day Before....

So, as some of you know.... I've had problems with my teeth and it's been a rather long journey to getting them fixed. I've had a very rough road. My full mouth extraction will be done tomorrow at 10 am.

Right now I'm not sure how to feel about this. I'm extremely nervous and it's taking it's toll on me. You see... I've never had surgery before. So, this is a pretty big ordeal.

I have several concerns. The first is I'm afraid this will have a negative outcome for my daughter and her views of the dentist. I don't want her to be afraid to go because of seeing what I'm about to go through.

Second, I'm 24 years old. I feel this is rather young to be loosing all of my teeth. Yes, it's a good thing because I wont be in pain anymore and I'll slowly be able to eat foods I once loved. I'm looking at it this way.... once it's done... there's no going back. So, I pray I don't have any issues with the dentures. I don't want to be 24 years old without teeth. That would just look and be horrible.

Third... I can handle some pain. That's for sure. I've put up with lots of it over five years. But I just pray that it's not over my limit and from what I know I can handle.

So, this will be the last post I make until I begin to feel better (hopefully this week sometime). I'll have a few guest bloggers so keep your eyes out for their awesome posts.

Until next time....... <3

Thankful Thursday

We have tons going on right now. We are saving for Christmas, our Wedding, and our Honeymoon. This past week went by rather quick so far. Our daughter had to go to the doctor's and miss a day of school this week due to bronchitis. But she's doing much better now. My daughter's visiting her Grandmother this week which gave me some time to think about what I'm thankful for.

The things I am most thankful for are:

- First and foremost, Life itself.
         I've been battling bad dental problems since I was a child. The past five years have been a bit rough for me. Every day was a different journey. The pain I experienced, the judgement, and the heartache. Nothing can top being thankful for Life.


- My family.
        They are standing behind me 100% as I go though this life changing event which is rather scary for me. On Monday, I'll be going through a full mouth extraction surgery. This will be the first time I have ever been put "under" for anything.

- My health and my family's health:
         We have seen several deaths within the past week. (Prayers and hugs goes to those who lost a family member.)

- Pain killers.....
      I'm definitely going to need them after Monday.


- My loyal readers.
        I just love when you leave me comments and tid bits. You make the blogging world worth it. Thanks for being there and supporting me.

-My Sponsor's
       The companies who agree to allow me to review their products. I must say I truly enjoy working with each of you.

My Princess is Sick (Even though it doesnt seems like it)

Last night, Princess woke me up coughing so hard it took her breath. It really scared both of us. So, this morning right after she left for school (the coughing only happens at night).... Hubby called the doctor and made her an appointment. After school, Hubby and Princess went off to the doctors... Let me remind you... she's ADHD which makes office visits a little rough because she's always bouncing off the walls. Here's Hubby's way of keeping her some what calm... and it's rather entertaining:

Overloaded with Stress

I'm sure most of the blogging world would agree that when we write/post our finds, giveaways, reviews, and stories; it helps with our stress level in some way. Well, normally this would work for me. But I don't think for the next week anything will work.

The long awaited for dental surgery is Monday, Nove 14th. ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! And I am freaking out. It's my first surgery.

One thing I hate and I mean hate is doing something blind-folded. (Not literally) I feel this is like walking with a blind fold on. You have no idea what is coming your way.

I'm the type of person that needs to follow a list, schedule, or know what I am needed to do. Well, my surgery falls under none of that. So yeah I am freaking out. I feel this coming week is going to be full of restless nights and anxiety of the unknown.

Is anyone else like this?

Awesome Addition to my Library-- Great Idea for the Holidays

I've had plenty of time to enjoy the Nook Color by Barnes and Noble. I must say it was the best investment I've made in a long time. Normally, my living room and my bedroom had books every where. They'd sit and collect dust until I came back around to read them again.

As we all know eBook readers are top of the market today. Everyone is looking into buying one. Well, I did. The Nook Color by Barnes and Noble is simply awesome. I love it.

At first I wasn't sure if I was willing to give up the feel of a book and give up turning the pages of a book. Now it's all done with the touch of a finger. But it didn't take me long to realize how great this investment is.

The Nook Color serves more than just the purpose of a electronic library. It has many more functions. The Apps available help make this an extraordinary device. A few of my favorite apps that I use all the time are: Fliq Notes, Fliq Tasks, Nook Word of the Day, and Email. There's over a thousand apps you can choose from. Prices range from free to approx $5.00

I've noticed that most of the apps range in the free to $1.00 range. How awesome is that? Some of the apps that I'm looking into are ones that can help my daughter in kindergarten learn. So, now it's not only for reading and apps.... but learning too.

So, while you're out shopping this holiday season.... I'd recommend getting the Nook Color for your loved one.

The Nook Color also has several different accessories you can purchase to make the experience better and protect your Nook. Take a look:

                                               Awesome!!!!
 














*NOTE* This is not a paid review. It is written in my own opinion.

I Signed The Pledge and So Can YOU

I haven't been a wittness of it and I know I won't be (now that I signed the pledge).... this pledge is known for women standing together, speaking up, to stop online bullying among Moms.

I know if I get word that my daughter is being bullied in school, I want to do something about it quick. I contact the school in hopes that this situation will be resolved.

I was a victim of bullying while in school. (Im not embarrassed to say because it just makes those who do the bullying look like an ass).

And now I will stand up and help the fight against bullying online among Moms. (Which I must say is ridiculous) We don't want our children or family to go through it.... So, why would you want to put someone else through it.

So, join me now and sign the pledge HERE. You'll be happy you did it. I am.

Awesome Update

As some of you already know, I've been waiting a very long time to find the means to get my dental health in order and fix what's broken. This past week, I got the phone call I've been waiting for during the last five years. (Previous posts on my blog will explain why I had to wait so long).

After countless months of fighting insurance companies and dental offices, I was finally approved for my full mouth extraction plus dentures. AWESOME.... But we already knew that one... LOL

Anyway, this week the oral surgeon's office called to SCHEDULE my SURGERY!!!!!

Therefore, I'll be blogging up until Nov. 13.... in which on the 14th will be my surgery. I'd love it if you all hang out with me and keep my spirits up and fears down until then. What do ya say?

Awesome Blog..... Check it out....

I just wanted to thank "Mama to 4 Blessings" for helping me out the past few days. I really think everyone should head on over to her page and check it out. Become one of her followers as well. I promise you won't be disappointed.