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Summer Vacation...Ahhhh

Summer brings such sweet and easy living and those treasured moments of relaxation. Well, those moments may seem far and few between but they are precious times to savour and hold on to as wonderful summer memories.

This summer started off a bit crazy for us as we decided to install hardwood floors on a good portion of the interior living space of our home. They look fantastic but it was far from relaxing at the time we were preparing to move all our furniture and treasures out of the space so the work could be done. Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely, because the end result was worth all the effort. After all, most good things do take effort and then you can sit back and enjoy the results.

The last week of June, we were out of our house staying at a local, "pet-friendly", hotel ~ The Homeward Suites. It worked out great for all of us and we had a kitchen, living area and separate bedroom. Our 7yr old loved it and thought it was a "great adventure"! There was a pool and ours was not open yet so the kids were thrilled to go swimming every night.

After school got out, we headed to Mashpee, Cape Cod, MA. to stay at our time-share for a week. I bought this deeded for life week from Ebay at resale for about 1/5th of the cost it would have been buying direct. I recommend time shares to everyone traveling with children because most timeshares are a pretty good size. You usually have a kitchen, living area and one,two, sometimes three bedrooms. If you can get one deeded for life at resale it is a great way to guarantee a vacation every year. Or like us, it was a great resource when we had to be out of our house.

We returned from Cape Cod and went into our home to see the beautiful floors. They looked great. Oh, before we put in the floors we also had our neighbor, Moe Matte, a local contractor, take out a wall and install a wooden banister that you see as you walk up the stairs. The entire room is much more open now and the space looks so much larger. Moe is a great contractor and didn't mind meeting my demands of putting the spindles much closer together than code. Our 18 month old, Jack, is a monkey so we wanted it to be extra safe. It also just looks great!

After taking in the new look, we realized that we had limited time to put the house back together again. We started going through all our treasures and putting everything back in place. We decided to weed through and pass on many things we just don't need anymore. Some things will be offered to friends, some items will be brought to local thrift shops and others are being put in boxes and will be donated to local charities. Passing things on or selling them is a great way to save others some money and also recycle and help save the planet. Many of our treasures have passed through other hands before we acquired them so it it is great to know someone else can enjoy these items too.

After putting our house back together, we headed on vacation. Yes, that is right, I said vacation. My husband had the week off of work and we headed to Marthas's Vineyard for a fun, relaxing, and memorable family vacation. The boys loved it. The beach was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and everyone was happy. Life is good! I will be posting a bunch of photos of our home renovations and vacation. Hope you are inspired and find some projects to conquer or ways to relax. Just enjoy the summer.

We returned home for another week and then I headed to Maine with the boys and my sister. She had rented a week, also a time share from someone selling one on Ebay, and we were lucky to be invited to join her and go on another vacation. My husband was able to join us the end of the week and he took our older son, Nicholas, fishing. We strolled the local shops in Bar Harbor, Maine and visited Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. The mountain air was refreshing. We got some rain along the way but it never stopped us. Nicholas was even courageous enough to run in against the crashing waves and 50 degree temperature of the water at Sandy Beach. He met a friend, Max, one night and we got together with him and his dad a few times during the week. They also joined Rob and Nicholas for the fishing trip. It was great to see how easily our son could make friends and enjoy other's company. The boys exchanged addresses and will hopefully become pen pals or e-mail pals.

We normally do not take so many vacations at one time. It was great but it is also even better to be home now. The house is back in order and now we are planning for a big family party at the end of August. We want to celebrate and take in those last days of summer. September will come quickly and school will be back in session before we know it. So, for now we will enjoy those pesky bugs, humid sunny days, hot nights, countless BBQ's, children screaming and laughing....ahhhh those treasured summer memories!!!

Please visit my affiliate links for great shopping!!! Click Here!!!

http://www.merrytreasureshopper.com/dynamic/?page=5




If you would like to visit any of these sites, please click here and you will be brought to My Affiliate Links Page. Here you can visit anyone of these fantastic home based programs. If you decide to join us as a fellow affiliate, please put my name Elaine Tuccelli in the fax line and I would be happy help you on your journey!!!

My Messy Baby

This is the photo of my Messy Baby. This photo was taken on his first birthday as he enjoyed his special birthday cake. Yummmm!!!

Messy Baby Contest ~ Win this Spa Cake

Oh, I just love these great contests that I am finding when cruisin around the internet. Giggles & Sugar Kisses is hosting a free Messy Baby Contest on their blog ~ http://www.mother-2-mother.blogspot.com. After entering the contest you may also want to visit their great on-line store at http://www.gigglesnsugarkisses.com and you can find many baby shower gifts.

This contest was a very easy one for me to enter because my youngest son, Jack, just simply enjoys making a mess. I guess he is testing out his creative side. I just had to decide which messy photo should I send? I really believe that God makes them so cute for a reason.

Well, here are the details so you can enter your little Messy Baby. Just send a photo of your messy baby to rhonda@gigglesnsugarkisses.com . Make sure to include your child's first name and age. Your name, phone number, and mailing address. This contest is for US Citizens Only. Deadline is May 31, 2008. The winner will be announced June 1, 2008. and will receive a Spa Cake. Yes, complete with a nice big towel to use to clean your Messy Baby! Enjoy that little one now, they grow up too fast!!!

Brodie Girl Boutique is having a summer contest!!!

I just entered another great contest and I would love to share it with you. Brodie Girl is having a fantastic summer contest. They will be giving away a pair of Personalized Shaggy Flip Flops. The winner will even be able to customize their prize with the colors and font they like. The Flip Flops retail for $42.00 and they are adorable. No Purchase necessary to enter, just register as a customer and make sure you click the box to get their newsletters. You can enter this contest anytime now up until June 19, 2008 and the drawing will be on June 20th. Good Luck!

Merry Treasure Shopper is proud to be a Girl Shop Spot (GSS) Bio Story Winner

I am proud to announce that my on-line retail store, Merry Treasure Shopper, has been chosen to receive an award from Girl Shop Spot. We are proud to have been chose as a GSS Bio Story Winner!

Girl Shop Spot, GSS is a shopping resource for today's modern woman. Joining this group has been fantastic for promoting my on-line retail store and since joining I have immediately seen higher traffic and higher search engine placement. I have contacted one of the founders Christine Van Buskirk and asked her to share a bit about GSS and this is a message from her to you.

A Note From the Founder of Girl Shop Spot (GSS)

"My name is Christine Van Buskirk and I just wanted to give you a quick note to let you know how much I admire your business and your ambition in making it a success. I know how trying and hard it can be at times. I want to introduce you to a new online advertising business that you may be interested in learning more about. It can help you gain market share, online visibility, sales increase, and exposure. GirlShopSpot.com is a web site that advertises unique home decor, specialty shops, fashion, boutiques, parties, cafes and services women love for small business owners and entrepreneurs alike. I felt a need, for both the cyber world of commerce and brick and mortar shops, to create a site where merchants and entrepreneurs could advertise and be found by their customers and peers seeking them. Because the online media channel is such a vital role in small business success, my goal is to help cottage businesses catering to women become smarter companies by providing them the information and tools to promote offline sales, as well as online, creating smoother commerce solutions. I hope you find the site helpful, unique, supportive, and fun. Thanks for visiting us."

Thank you Christine and Jim Van Buskirk for having the vision, creative talent, marketing and technical skills to develop this wonderful and unique specialized search engine for today's modern woman! It is easy to see why GSS has been labeled, " A Girls Favorite Site".

Thank You for the Wonderful Contest!!!

I would just like to take this opportunity to say, "Thank You", to Elaine Stephen who is the owner of Inspirational Gift Gallery which is an on-line store for beautiful, unique and personalized Inspirational Gifts . She was kind enough to sponsor a contest on her blog site, Inspirational Christian Stories, Poems and Gifts, and give away a set of music CD's called Baby's First Bible Songs.

I am happy to say, that I was the lucky recipient of this contest. Well, really me, my husband and our 2 boys were all the lucky recipients. My boys love the entire cd collection. My older son recognizes most of the songs and he is teaching them to the baby who just likes to dance along.

Elaine has a beautiful website and many lovely Christian inspired gifts and other items of inspiration. She also have a beautiful blog that you can visit at http://inspirationalgifts.blogspot.com/ Seeing that Elaine and I share the same name I shared a little something with her that a woman at a local thrift store told me one day...

Every
Little
Angel
Is
Named
Elaine

Yes, the woman at the thrift store was named Elaine too. If you have any little special thing about your name, I would love to hear from you. Again, Thank You Elaine!!!

Warm wishes,
Elaine
(you can also call me Lainy ~ I have not heard one for that yet.)

170 Years of Unbridled Passion~The Women of The Victorian Heart Shoppe

Photo and article can be viewed in full at Victoriana On-line Magazine

The Victorian Heart Shoppe is a virtual town square that offers a number of on line stores, including one dear to me, Merry Treasure Shopper ~ my little on-line busines.

This wonderful on-line Victorian Town Square has been featured in an article that has been published in Victoriana Magazine's March issue. Many congratulations to the creators of The Victorian Heart Shoppe, the lovely Victoria Laurian Otto and her technical savy husband Jeff, for envisioning and creating such a lovely place to set up business! I am a new member that has only joined just over a month ago and I guess my timing was perfect. I am thrilled to know that their dedication to their business, advertisers and customers will bring new opportunities for everyone. I hope you can take a few moments and visit this lovely on-line virtual town square and see what treasures await you!

PS ~ Please visit me on Fifth Avenue and enjoy!

Happy Everything!

Easter Graphic Comments

Calling All Beach Mamas and Daddys Too!!!

Okay you beach going families this is the perfect contest for you. You could have a chance to win

The BeachPack.

This clever and useful bag was invented by Terry Donze, a mom who grew tired and frustrated with how difficult it was to lug all of her children’s gear to and from the beach. Terry designed this backpack-style bag to be easy to pack as well as large enough to organize towels, sunscreen, reading materials, snacks, bottled water, a cellphone, and all the other beach essentials. The BeachPack was carefully designed to stay open and upright when placed on the ground. Another great feature are the many interior and exterior pockets to organize everything you need. In order to enter this great contest, you just need to visit the Mamanista Blog http://mamanista.com/2008/03/beach-pack-organizer-for-trips-to-the-pool-and-beach.html#comments by12:59 EST on March 28, 2008 and leave a comment about what you like best about this amazing bag. I just entered this great contest too. Good Luck and may you have many beach days ahead!

Happy Spring!

It is so nice to welcome Spring. I live in New England and it has been a cold and wet winter but I really can't complain considering what some people are going through right now with all the crazy weather patterns. Hopefully, soon we will all be basking in the warm rays of the sun and enjoying all the outdoor activities. I am actually looking forward to some outdoor spring cleaning and of course decorating. We have to start getting the backyard ready for those long summer nights. Ahhhh. Good Times!!!

As I think about Springtime, it makes me think about new beginnings, fresh starts, birth and life. Last year in the later part of spring heading into summer my older son, then 6yrs old, was delighted to discover a birds nest with 3 robins eggs inside. The nest was carefully and lovingly built and hidden under the stairs of our deck heading towards the pool. We were so careful not to touch it or disturb the nest in any way. Daily we could go and take a peak to check on the eggs. Every time we did, the mama and daddy birds, kept a watchful eye on us but they still let us gently approach and enjoy their precious little eggs. I guess they new we would be careful as we all eagerly awaited them to hatch. It was such a beautiful and amazing thing to witness. One night I was having a party at the house but my son told me we had to go and check on the eggs, I am so glad I listened to him and joined in his enthusiasm. Two of those beautiful blue-green eggs had hatched. There was one more egg that just needed a little more time and the other newly hatched baby birds provided it with love and warmth. The next morning we were eager to see another miracle and we did, and then there were three. I am happy to say, we took some photos of this sweet miracle and I can now share them with you. My son and my husband and I learned so much from being able to see something like this up so close. It was truly a gift to witness the miracle of life. I hope seeing these photos brings a smile to your face, happiness in your heart and a reminder how beautiful life really is, and to savour all the miracles!!!

Why do we celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

I was talking with my seven year old son as I was helping him pull his clothes for tomorrow and I told him that he had to wear green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. He said ok mom, and without hesitating he picked his Boston Celtics shirt to wear. But as we were sitting in his room going through his closet it dawned on me...does he really understand this holiday or is he just going along with what I tell him? He knows it is a celebration but does he really know why? Better yet, do I really understand this holiday? Well, I decided to look into this a bit further and I gathered some information. Here is the simple information I shared with my son and what I decided this day means to me.

The first St. Patrick's Day celebration in America was held back around 1737. Primarily this was celebrated by those of Irish descent but over time it was celebrated by many people of all nationalities. Today, we can go into the local stores and see cakes shaped like shamrocks and we see many decorations adorned with rainbows, leprechauns and pots of gold. To me, this represents dreams, hard work and results. Many of the early descendents risked so much to come here. They worked very hard and found happiness and built a new life for themselves. Their faith, hard work and success are all worth celebrating! They have added so much to all the wonderful things we enjoy today.

In Ireland St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday. Patrick was a young boy who had been taken from his home and forced into slavery in Ireland. He wrote about hearing God speak to him and he was able to escape to Britain. He had another vision from God and Patrick eventually went back to Ireland in the hopes of converting the people there to Christianity. In many documentations, it is believed that he passed away on March 17 461 AD. In Ireland, many of the businesses other than pubs and restaurants are shut down. Many of the people attend mass on this Holy Day in Ireland.

Here in America, St. Patrick's Day (St. Paddy's Day) is not a national holiday. Yet, in many areas you will find big parades and people from all nationalities sporting their green, eating their corned beef and cabbage boiled dinners, and drinking green beer and other popular Irish drinks. It is truly a day of celebration for many.

Whether you celebrate this day because it is a tradition passed down to you, or because you are proud of your Irish heritage or because you just enjoy a good party, I wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day, much luck in all that you do, strength to work hard, a rainbow to dream upon, a pot of gold as your reward and many blessings throughout your life!!! 777 Luck of The Irish to you All!!!777