Stephenie Meyer's new book is tagged as an Eclipse Novella to partner and extend upon the brief character introduced (and destroyed) in her Eclipse novel. Bree Tanner is a newborn vampire created for one purpose, to join the ranks of a newborn vampire army being created to kill. Bree descends on Bella Swan and the Cullen family with orders to destroy but somehow manages to get lost in the fighting and survives on confusion alone. We see a glimpse of her fear and agony as Carlisle Cullen attempts to help her.  Her character interacts with the entire Cullen family who offer her a chance at redemption and the option to learn how to live by their "vegetarian" lifestyle of abstaining from feeding on humans if she can show signs of being able to control herself. Unfortunately, having a human, Bella Swan in such close proximity makes her vampire tendencies surface. We know who created her and her fate but nothing else. Bree Tanner is portrayed as a frightened teenage newborn vampire who is confused yet lethal. She is a brief but unforgettable and haunting character. This new short book promises to show us a glimpse into the darker side of the vampire world through her eyes.

Twilight readers have been led to understand the vampire world as passionate, magical and dangerous. However, we have always seen the good intentions of the Cullens and human elements such as love, friendship and family. Seeing their world from the darker side from within the vampire newborn army sounds like a creative way to put a fresh spin on the magic of Meyer's story telling. To say that I am excited would be a vast understatement. I'm not entirely sure where I fit into the Twilight fan world, avid reader, obsessed Twilight mom, movie lover but one thing is for sure, I am a fan and I'm ready to be dazzled again by the world created by Stephenie Meyer. Just two more days. I am sure in three more days I will wish for even more Twilight books.

All great restaurants have great food and Panera's food is unique and delicious. They make all of their breads from scratch and fresh everyday. Almost every ingredient on the menu is organic, including the kids menu. The entrees are healthy yet filling. One of our favorites is the broccoli cheese soup which they serve in a delicious bread bowl. It's divine. Besides soups and amazing sandwiches, they also offer a huge variety of bakery foods and desserts. No matter what time of day it is there always seems to be someone ordering the bakers dozen box of bagels.

Panera always seems to be busy, any time of day we have visited and yet we've never had trouble getting a table. The layout is large enough to accommodate the many loyal Panera food lovers and yet it still seems intimate. Our Panera Bread in Evansville has a small fireplace which you can sit around on three sides. There are also a few bistro table outside but I prefer the atmosphere inside with modern art and cozy table settings.

Panera Bread seems to attract students needing a fun environment to study, business professionals getting a bit of work done on their laptops, friends of every age group and families all wanting to enjoy amazing food thats just unique enough to differ from the abundant fast food chains. Panera Bread has given us a quick service meal experience that feels more like a treat. How can a quick meal cafe hold so much importance in our lives? Simply by creating an atmosphere that we can't seem to find amongst the many other fast food joints in Evansville.

When you think about it, theme park food is part of the whole experience. We want a day of fun and out of the ordinary experiences which include burgers, ice cream, cotton candy, fudge, french fries and corn dogs.  Stereotypically similar to really bad for you fast food or even closer to carnival food. So when I stumbled upon the new food options on their website I did a double take and smiled with delight at the new additions. Besides the new salad were other options such as black bean chipotle veggie burger, pasta salad, baked pasta, five new soups and a no sugar added butter pecan ice cream. An added benefit is the ability to purchase many of these healthier foods in multiple restaurants within Holiday World and also in Splashin' Safari.

Oh there are also other new items to the menu for those believing that calories don't count while on vacation. Funnel cake fries, fried brownie bites, apple stuffed bosco breadsticks and churros have been added to the menu to tempt us all. Don't get me wrong. I am pumped for more variety and will probably by the end of the summer have tried them all (just typing fried brownie bites makes my mouth water). For me, a frequent (weekly) Holiday World visitor, the addition of healthy food options helps me balance out the fun food intake without wrecking my diet.

The 76th annual Hadi Shrine Circus is coming to Evansville once again from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday. There are two shows on Thursday, three on Friday and Saturday and an afternoon show on Sunday. We have always attended the evening show until we had a daughter. Now we try to make it to the afternoon show on Thanksgiving Day because it is less crowded and easier for her to stay awake for the three hour show. Ticket prices range from $17-$22 for reserved seats and $12 for general admission. We usually get general admission which seems like a pretty good value considering you would pay almost as much for a ticket to the movies these days!

The acts are usually similar from year to year with trapeze artists, performing animals and of course the clowns! I have been every year of my life and even though not much is new each year to the show, I can remember being a little girl anticipating my favorite parts. In this way, I am grateful the circus is similar each year. I know what to expect and I know its going to be fun! The elephants and tigers have a similar act each year but the kids love it when they come out! The Kenya Wizards are a newer act that is always a crowd favorite. They dance to African music and tumble all over the place. Even though they are grown men, they seem to have so much energy and are able to stack themselves on top of one another like incredibly complex cheerleaders! There are also jugglers, tight rope walkers, motorcycle tricks and all types of animals from dogs to bears to monkeys performing in each of the three rings. The circus always begins with a parade and ends with a "bang" with typical circus music performed by a live band from beginning to end.

Last year our daughter really loved all of the music, lights and of course the animals. Experiencing traditions through the eyes of my daughter is what makes my holidays so magical and I know taking a two year old to the circus will be very exciting!

Our fall really kicked off with our trip to Boo at the Zoo. It was amazing and spending a whole weekend with my family was a dream come true. It was the beginning of so many family traditions for this time of year. But the month of November always seems to go by so quickly which brings us to Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is becoming one of my favorite holidays mainly because of how little stress goes into it. We always spend the first half of our day at the grandparent's house and then we head to the Circus.

The Hadi Shrine Circus is a tradition for my side of our family. We always go on Thanksgiving day. I can't wait to see how our two year old daughter reacts this year to the amazing show.

I also have a deep love for Christmas and my Christmas season usually starts before Thanksgiving. Perhaps this is because I was raised in Santa Claus, IN. I'm sure working in retail, where our holiday season starts mid-October doesn't help the matter. Its so hard to go to work and listen to Christmas music and come home to Halloween decorations. So this year I'm sure will be unlike the ones past in that I will be begging my husband to start decorating in November.

Sometimes the anticipation is just as much fun as the actual event. This is certainly the case for me this Autumn. So as we are right in the middle of this very fun and very busy season I hope to that it doesn't pass too fast. I hope to focus on what matters most, making memories and spending time with my family.

As I've written before, there is just something about enjoying the rides and attractions during the colder months that makes visiting the park different and fun! This year was no exception. The lines for the rides were short, the food was good and the weather was just cold enough to need a hoodie. We posed for countless pictures and made several laps around the park riding our favorite rides. One of my favorite aspects of Holiday World is how many rides we can enjoy as a group.

We took our daughter along this year and she was very excited to wear her favorite Holiday World hoodie which she proudly showed to each of the Holidazzles. She asks to go to "HaWoo" (as she calls it) everyday! I can't wait until next summer when she is a bit older and able to enjoy even more of great rides for kids. We will anxiously await the 2010 season and the new addition to the water park.

This year they are hoping to find new sponsors for their huge light show.  I hope they receive all the help they need to maintain their 16th year.  The admission has always been reasonable and the proceeds benefit the Easter Seals organization.

We will be fitting the Fantasy of Lights into our family's busy holiday schedule in a few months.  I can not wait to see the reaction from my 2 year old daughter's face!  One day I will tell her all about mommy and daddy's first visit.  Until then I'll make new family memories by keeping up with our annual visit to Ritzy's Fantasy of Lights, because traditions are what holidays are made of.

I've had a season pass my entire life and have spent every summer there during the busiest and hottest times. This summer was no exception. I took my daughter almost every week, usually through the week but we did brave a few Saturdays. Holiday World will once again welcome more than a million visitors this year and are on track to set a new attendance record sometime in the next few weeks. However, as the cold weather slowly comes in and their seasons end approaches, for me, the best memories are made. We can ride any ride, over and over again. We can pose in all the "touristy" spots for dozens of pictures. We can be kids and take our time to enjoy the food, weather, entertainment and fun without the stress of crowds and lines.

We are planning on attending on the last day for Splashin' Safari this weekend and then later on the last day for Holiday World to be open. Hopefully the weather will become even more fall-like. We will say good-bye to the last of our summer traditions until the next year by screaming our heads off on the Voyage, posing one more time by the Santa statue, clapping along to one last show all while hopefully wearing a hoodie.

Old Navy has started a wonderful and actually fun way of receiving superb coupons. They call it "Old Navy Weekly". I discovered it on accident by becoming a "fan" of them on Facebook. The tab is accessible to anyone on their website, the coupons, however, are another story.

The "modelquins" are hanging out advertising current deals and great new items. It is your job to hunt for the coupons. Its totally exciting. By moving click-able items around on the modelquins the different coupons become available. A set amount of coupons are available of each kind, i.e. 25% your purchase, $50 off $100 purchase or even $70 off $100 purchase. Fans of Old Navy on Facebook post clues to capturing these worthy coupons but the best coupons are usually gone within minutes. So far all I've been able to snag are the 25% off and $10 off of $50 purchase coupons but both are better than nothing!  New coupons are updated each Thursday night between 7:00pm and 11:00pm.

Our daughter is about to turn 2 years old and will need a complete new wardrobe for fall. I have always loved Old Navy clothes for their style and quality but they aren't usually my first stop for kids clothes because of the price. Having these coupons available to me in the next couple of months will put Old Navy in the top spot for stores to shop for her. Its a smart move for Old Navy and for any mommies trying stretch their clothing budgets