I usually don’t start Christmas shopping this soon, but I was walking by a western wear store the other day and they had a huge sale on equestrian riding apparel and I went in to check it out. My nephew is very into horses and the whole western lifestyle, so I try and pick him up something anytime I see it reasonably cheap. I’ve never really been into horses, but I support my nephew and love to see his eyes light up when I have him a bag and he pulls out a new shirt or pair of jeans.

I posted yesterday about doing some early Christmas shopping. Today I found some nice Votive candle holders and some nice smelling candles for my girlfriend. She really loves candles and potpouri and anything that will make our house smell nice. I also found a couple picture frames that I plan on using for a few pictures I’m having blown up of when we were first dating. It’s little thoughtful gifts like this that you really can’t buy in any store. I hope she has a wonderful Christmas!

I’ve started doing my Christmas shopping a little early this year. I have plenty of gift ideas for my girlfriend. I just ordered her a brand new paella pan and some other kitchenware. She’s not really into gadgets or electronics like I am, so I really have to pay attention when she mentions things that she wouldn’t mind having. I always get her a couple pieces of jewelry, but I also like to have plenty of other presents for her to open. I love seeing her face on Christmas morning when she realizes that I HAVE been having attention to what she says.

My young niece has a birthday coming up. One of her favorite things to play with right now is dollhouses. She just loves dolls and all of the miniature doll house furniture and that sort of thing. It’s kind of cute really. She plays house and makes pretend dinner for the doll father and family and cleans up the doll house while the other dolls are at work and at school.

I was shopping a few days ago for some new clothes for myself. I needed new dresses, blouses, slacks and shoes. Since I was already at the stores, I decided to pick up a few things that I thought my boyfriend needed, too. I was buying a few shirts, slacks, jeans and socks. I thought I was completely finished shopping for both of us when I passed by the t shirts in the men’s department. I decided to buy him some new t shirts before I left the store then. There are many different brands, colors, styles and materials to choose from. I just bought plain white combed cotton ones in hopes that they would be the right ones.

My daughter joined a horse club six years ago. Before joining, I signed her up to take horse lessons to learn about horses and their behavior and other important factors. I, then, enrolled her into horse riding lessons. She thoroughly enjoyed that. It was more work than she thought it would be, though. During her time of taking horse riding lessons, I bought her a new horse. She loved it and cared for it daily. This is when she decided to join the horse club. She wanted a special saddle. I was not going to spend very much money until I knew how responsible she was going to be first. I went to a farm auction and bought her first saddle there. Now that she has been in the club for six years, I am letting her pick out a new saddle. She has been shopping a lot and looking mostly at English saddles. It appears that is the type of saddle we will be buying.

I recently took a vacation to Texas. A lot of people suggested to me that I should only take one carry on piece of luggage. I’ve always taken more than I need when traveling. Since I was flying, like I usually do, I decided to take my friend’s advice and try to take just one piece of luggage. I carried it on with me, so there was no luggage to check in. Upon landing, it was wonderful, too, that I just took the suitcase I carried on and did not have to stand around waiting for it at the luggage area. It really ended up saving me lots of time and it was so much easier than I would have ever thought it would be.

My family has been on many vacations over the past several years. One of our favorite that we repeat pretty often is spending time at different lakes. We currently own 2 inflatable boats, which we always take to the lake with us. We have six children, who have gotten bigger and more independent, so we are now shopping to buy it least one more, and maybe even two more. There is no upkeep or maintenance to owning and using these boats. Of course, you must clean them when finishing using them, but that is all. We also have a carrying case we put ours in. After cleaning them and letting them dry completely, we fold them and put them in the case and there is no more to do until the next time you use them. They fold small enough that not much space is needed to transport them or store them. They come in so many different sizes and colors. We feel that if we didn’t own these, we could not afford to go anywhere for a fun vacation. Most of the time spent on our vacations at the lakes, the children are usually out on the water in one of these. They are easy to inflate as well. Some people think they are very expensive, but they actually are very reasonable in price. If you like being in the water and having fun, this is one of the best purchases you can make. They come in smaller sizes that only hold one or two people or bigger sizes that can occupy up to a lot more. We like the bigger ones for our children. My wife and I love to go out in our smaller one together to relax. If you don’t have a lot of money and can’t afford a fun vacation, buy some inflatable boats and you will have so much fun. When traveling to the lake, they take up a small size of space. When returning home, all you have to do is take them out of your vehicle and put them in your garage, basement, or wherever you normally store them. We don’t have a lot of storage space so this really helps us a lot. I strongly feel as these are the best inventions made for all the enjoyment and convenience a person’s family needs for the Summer. They are so much fun to ride in. My wife enjoys using our smaller one to go out on the lake by herself, too, to sun bathe and just lay back and relax. I think if a person tried these boats, they would be spending less money on vacations and more time at the lakes. There would also be no more arguing between the children of who gets a turn to use it. They make them big enough so everyone can use it at once together.

A friend of mine recently showed me a website that carries tons of funny t shirts. It’s called RoadKillTShirts.com. I was browsing through the site for about an hour last night and there were tons of shirts that actually made me laugh out loud. I’m thinking about ordering a couple to see how the quality is. If they come out good, I’ll probably order about 10 more.

A friend of mine is into the whole western life style and wears a lot of equestrian clothing. I couldn’t decide what to get him for his birthday, so I gave him a gift certificate to our local equestrian clothing store. He really didnt expect it and was pleasantly surprised by it. I never know what to get anyone when it comes to birthdays and holidays, but I guess I did good this time.