I can’t really begin to tell you how much I love Old Navy. For real. Like I would marry it. You can’t beat the cuteness, you can’t beat the price and you can’t beat the quality. Enough said.

Well, no. It’s not enough said. Because recently, I decided it was time for me to get some new clothes. I didn’t get myself much of anything for fall or winter and had cleaned out my closet which ended up looking like Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.

So, I walked into Old Navy with $100.00 and here’s what I walked out with.

This cute, green shirt.

This soft, breezy and super-comfortable skirt.

Three pairs of flip-flops. One gray, one blue and one orange.

Some stylish, cargo-capris.

A cozy, long-sleeved tee shirt.

Two stainless-steel, water bottles…because the two I already have weren’t enough.

And a crisp, white polo shirt.

And, after buying TEN items, I still have some money in my pocket! Which is why I think I want these shoes.What am I talking about? I need these shoes! Right? Right? Good. I’m glad we could all agree.

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When I was seven years old I got my first pair of eyeglasses. I clearly remember one of my second grade classmates calling me “four-eyes”, until our teacher heard him and made him stop and apologize. I hated those glasses.

In junior high school, I was one of the few girls who had to wear glasses. It was the 80’s and, as luck would have it, kids started wearing “fake” glasses to look cool. This would have been perfect for my pubescent-self had they actually made nice looking prescription glasses back then. While everyone was walking around in black, round, plastic frames, I was stuck with gold, oval ones. I hated those glasses too.

When I was finally old enough, I got contacts. I have to be honest, I was not a big fan. My eyes were always dry and itchy, they were a pain to take care of and there is no feeling like having a gas-permeable contact lens that gets lost in your eye. If there had been a better selection of eyeglass frames on the market, I would have never stuck those things in my eyes.

Thankfully, along came LASIK! I was one of the first people to sign up, but the doctor wouldn’t do the surgery until I had been contact-free for six months. By this point in my life, I was nearly blind and my glasses were thick and chunky. My co-workers called them pop bottles. Guess how much I hated that pair?

But, it was worth it to walk around like Mr. Magoo for six months so I could get LASIK! I liked it so much, I got it twice. That’s right. I had LASIK twice, and guess who still has to wear glasses? Mmm hmm. That would be me.

I certainly wasn’t going back to contacts after knowing how good my eyes felt after more than a year without them. Luckily, times have changed and there are companies making good looking frames now. Like this cute pair I just got from GlassesUSA.com.

Here’s me (and my son whose identity I’m concealing for his privacy…okay, not true, I’m just a bad photographer) sporting my new, funky, bold, brown-on-top, clear-on-the-bottom glasses. You know you love them.

And, because I love you, I went and got you a 5% discount with this great company (not that you need it, with prices as unbelievable as theirs). Plus, they’re good people. Their returned eyeglasses are not restocked, but instead are recycled and donated to organizations throughout the United States and provided to people who can’t afford vision care.

The discount code is Mommy5 and it never expires. See? Good people.

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We are heading into the time of year when my bulletin board is running out of tacks and my day-planner is so stuffed with lists, invitations and recipes that I can’t even shut the cover. Welcome to the holidays, folks.

But, no matter how crazy things get, I always try to stop and reflect before I walk out the door each day. Which is why this hangs in our back hallway. To remind myself, and my children, that no matter what you’re going through and no matter what you’re dealing with, you will always have your dreams.

This is why I was thrilled to be handed an opportunity of a lifetime last week. My family and I attended the fun-filled world premiere of “The Gift of Happy”. This short video was created by retailer, AJWright to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Just before the holidays get out of control, we were reminded of our good fortune. We were shown that sometimes corporations really do care about the little guy and that AJWright’s campaign to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs inspires the rest of us to do what we can. And, the children, who build success through the Boys & Girls Clubs programs, are learning to follow their dreams.

Please visit WrapUpHappy.com, and watch the video. I’m sure you will enjoy it and when you do, AJWright will donate $1.00 to the Boys & Girls Club of America. That’s what you call a win-win!

Speaking of winning…if you view the video and come back here to leave a comment about your viewing experience, you will be entered to win a $50.00 AJWright gift card! That’s a win-win-win!

Don’t forget to tell me what you thought of the video (and let your kids watch it too…mine really enjoyed the story) and make sure to leave a valid e-mail address with your comment so I can contact you if you’re the winner. The deadline for entering is Monday, December 21 at noon EST.

Oh, and look at what I found on the ground of the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus. It seems to me that I needed another reminder to stop, reflect and remember that you always have your dreams. I hope you will help these children achieve theirs.

UPDATE: Congratulations, Kathy! You are the lucky winner! Merry Christmas!

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I have never tried to hide the fact that I am not the best cook. Mostly it’s because my life is busy. Really busy. Dinner usually consists of something I’ve thrown together at the last minute. I may have once fed my children Beef-a-Roni and buttered hot dog buns for dinner.

For the last several years we have had Thanksgiving at our house and you can’t slack off in the preparations for that meal. Unless, of course, your husband stuffs the turkey and your mom brings the bread, corn, green beans and pie. However, I am quite skilled at opening the wine.

This year will be different though! This year, Thanksgiving dinner is my responsibility. Why? Because I went to Thanksgiving Boot Camp! My instructor was the lovely Robin Davis, food editor of The Columbus Dispatch. The location was the fabulous North Market.

The first thing I learned is that your ingredients should be fresh. That means you use real celery, onions and bread in your stuffing! Real bread! Okay, the pumpkin for the pie was canned, but everything else? Totally fresh! Almost all of our ingredients came straight from North Market vendors.

When we were finished, we sat down to some lovely conversation, a delightful Pinot Noir and the most delicious turkey I have ever had.

I will be taking over the entire refrigerator for this recipe, but it will be worth it. Robin knows her stuff.

Well, except for how to save my pie.

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