The 4th Pain of Christmas Made Easy :)

Nothing like 6 to 12 inches of snow to get you thinking about Christmas. I know, I know… it’s not yet Halloween, but except for one class party and the trick-or-treating, that holiday is dead to me. Thanksgiving doesn’t get me too inspired, so I just stuff my face and nap. Then it’s on to Christmas.

In my busy, crafty mania, I typically fall apart on one thing! The Christmas cards. Last year, I mailed them the week after Christmas. In 2009, I mailed them on January 20th. How do I remember that? It was the day Obama was inaugurated.

So, this year, because I am not crazily sewing Halloween costumes or crafting the perfect giveaway treat for the classroom AND I received a reminder email from Shutterfly I have started to think about this year's Christmas cards.

Last year, I signed up for a promotion with Shutterfly that in exchange for a blog post containing my honest review, I would receive 50 free Christmas Cards. I said, what the hey, I would give it a try! And I am glad I did. The cards were amazing. The quality was superb, the choices, original and the selection, huge!! This is the one I finally chose:



So, this year, Shutterfly is again wooing me with free cards. But they didn’t need to woo me. I would have bought them.

I encourage you to take a look at their Christmas card selection here.

They also have cards for other occasions, if you already have your handmade Christmas cards ready to be mailed. You can check them out here.

I would also totally recommend them for their photo books . I used to scrapbook back before the kids. Now, I have no time, no space and no pictures to look at because they are all still on the memory card or in some folder on my hard drive. This year, after we returned from a fabulous St. John vacation, I decided that I wanted something to show my friends. So I created a photo books . Oh. My. Heck. Best thing ever. Simple to create, easy to carry around, fun to show off. And if you have kids, Grandparents love this stuff. Theese books would make a fabulous Christmas or birthday presents.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Shutterfly. As a bonus, once you get signed up, not only do you immediately get 50 free prints, they are always sending nice offers for more free prints or free product. And everything I have gotten from them has been top notch.

Give them a try, you won’t regret it.

Do you blog? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register HERE!!

Don't have time to blog? Don't worry!, Shutterfly has offered me three promotional codes for 25 free cards. An excellent way to try them out and see what you think. So, if you leave me a comment, I will draw three names on November 1st and the winners will receive a code via email.

Disclosure: I am being compensated by Shutterfly for this blog post, but all these opinions are mine, mine, mine!!

Breaking News

Smalltown, USA - In what can only be described as a tragedy, a number of Smurfs appear to be victims of a hit and run in Smalltown, a suburban neighborhood near Laurieville. An anonymous tip from Linnea L., of Smalltown, led authorities to the scene of the crime.

Authorities say there are no suspects in custody at this time. However, a source close to the investigation told Laurieville affiliate, WLJM-TV, that police have identified two persons of interest. Investigators have also interviewed a witness who reported overhearing a comment "and for the record, those Smurfs had it coming...I mean...they were already an ink blot before I got to them".

We warn our readers that the pictures to follow are graphic and may not be suitable for all audiences.

Hurray, it’s Hobbit Day!

*spoiler alert ahead*

A little side story. Back in 2001, I saw a preview for a fantasy movie … Lord of the Rings. I didn’t know anything about it other than what the preview showed. Looked like a lot of Dungeons and Dragons, elves, wizards… things my husband and I both enjoyed. I had never heard of the book, much less read it. I tried once to listen to The Hobbit on tape (you young-uns know what a tape is?) but it had too many different voices and I couldn’t get through it.

So, Dave and I went to see this Lord of the Rings movie. It had me at “The world is changed.” They kept me at this hottie…


And this hottie…


I sat totally enthralled for 178 minutes. Waiting for Frodo to throw the ring into Mt. Doom. Crying, nay, SOBBING, for Frodo “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.” Sobbing as Sam chases after Frodo, “I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise! ‘Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.’ And I don’t mean to. I don’t mean to.”

And then, as Frodo and Sam ponder the fate of the others before they themselves head to Mordor, the credits start rolling. WHAT THE %$*@ ??? I turned to my husband, incredulous. What? I demanded. And as casual as if saying the sky was blue, he said, “There’s three of them.” Meaning three movies. Looking at me like, you didn’t know?

Thus, my love affair with Middle Earth began.

And today, on Hobbit Day, I would like to thank the hobbits for saving Middle Earth. As the King of Gondor said to them, “My friends, you bow to no one.”

Kindergarten

WARNING: Gratuitous "First Day of Kindergarten For Rachel" pics ahead for the grandparents and the one uncle who reads this blog (you know who you are :) ... and maybe I'll get a real post in soon. But first, I must fill out 83 forms with my name, address and who to contact in case of emergency... I think it would be easier to get this tattooed to their butts. Honestly!!

Happy September, ya'll!

'ello, handsome....

Unless you are following me on Pinterest, nothing to see here. Move along.


*taken at the Westin in Grand Cayman ...

2nd Grade

WARNING: gratuitous "first day of 2nd Grade picture of Elena" for her grandparents ahead. Her mama thinks she is quite adorable and that she got all her beauty directly from her mama :-P

Summertime, summertime, sum, sum...

This morning, I saw my first red tree. A sign of autumn. A little over a month away, but the nights are cool and the trees are starting to think about changing.

So I figured I better blog something about summer then, eh?

When we last met, Dave was celebrating his birthday, yet again. He likes to do this every year. Only this year, he got to go to Las Vegas for the first time. To keep him out of trouble, I sent him with his 70 year old mama. They had a great time and came home with a chunk of change. Unfortunately, now Dave thinks it’s easy to make money in Las Vegas and wants to go back. Soon, honey, soon…!!



Upon his return, we went camping for our inaugural trip this summer to Connecticut. Can’t find one single picture…

Other May highlights included my 7 year old’s first dance. The school calls it the Spring Fling Dance and traditionally the girls invite their daddies. Dave got Elena her first corsage. *Sniff* It was so sweet and they were so adorable. Got their picture in the paper too!





Also in May, the groundbreaking for the new high school took place (inside due to rain). My five year old was chosen to represent the Class of 2024. She attended preschool for the last two years in the existing high school, so the committee included her and another little girl from the Class of 2025. Rachel was a superstar. And she got to keep the golden shovel. She was a bit concerned how she was going to build the whole school however and was quite relieved to find out she didn’t have to. Side story…at dance class, I heard some other parents mocking the groundbreaking and people pulling their kids out to go to it like it was no big deal. Clearly they don’t live in this town, because it is a big deal. This is the school where my children will spend some of their most formative years, not to mention the increase in taxes to pay for it. So, yeah… it IS a big deal, thankyouverymuch!





In June, we had the long awaited dance recital! It was the first recital for both the girls. They were both fabulous and adorable, of course. (Sorry for the blurry, horrid pics.)





In July, we celebrated our country’s birthday by making our annual excursion to Cape Cod, where we stayed with Dave’s sister and her husband. We ate, drank and were generally merry! The weather was perfect at the beach and the company (and the food and the wine!) quite enjoyable. And they let me drive their Jeep around all weekend. Almost made me buy one.





In July, I did have to buy a new car. However, due to the poor mpg of the Jeep, I chose a VW Passat instead. I traded in my 11 year old 2-door Honda Civic (who failed her emissions test) and bought the Passat after much agonizing and debating. Before you go thinking I am a Rockafeller, Otto Von Schnell (his name… what??) is a 2008 with 26,000 miles. However, Otto has more bells and whistles than I thought possible. I am still finding new things and it’s been a month!!

And now it’s August. We did squeeze in a camping trip with another family at the beginning of the month, which was quite a good time!!! I hope they think so too.



We also went to the Bolton Fair and although we did not get to see one oversized vegetable (sorry, Dave), we did enjoy watching the girls have fun on all the rides and spending more money than I thought possible at a small fair…







Now we are getting ready for back to school and Rachel’s first time on the school bus as she starts Kindergarten. It should be quite interesting. I am looking forward to jeans and turtlenecks and maybe a campfire on a chilly night. And a bit of routine again in Laurieville. We’ve been quite lax in that department.

So, cheerio… Will I see you in September or lose you to a summer love? Or should I wake you up when September ends?

Smooches,
Laurie