Where has the time gone?

WOW, I can't believe that it is the 30th of December already.  It has been a whirlwind the past few weeks for me with work & holiday preparations.  I must say I have managed to accomplish most of what I wanted, but missed out on some photo ops.

My most recent road block has been my work schedule & getting enough rest so I don't catch the latest "bug" and bring it home from work (I work in a long-term care facility).  So I need to keep my immune system strong.  SO far I have avoided the Flu & a Gastro bug. 

This past weekend my youngest (my daughter) had a sleep over for her birthday yesterday.  She planned this all herself.  She wanted to have a night of viewing videos and then a trip to the movies for her & a few friends.  She had three girls over, I assume they had a blast - all three thanked me for having them.  They went to see the latest "Night at the Museum" movie - it was funny.  My daughter also wanted a photo with her BFF's so she could insert it into a frame as a gift for each of them (Christmas gift).  She found some really nice 3 x 5 frames and we got a few acceptable photos, but my problem came when I went to order the prints for her.  None of my go to online printers support this size photo any longer.  Bummer!

Thankfully I have Artisan from Panstoria (did I mention I totally love this software).  It has bailed me out on more than one occasion.  I created the size photo I wanted on a 4x6 print by adding a black background & inserting the size photo frame I needed.  Now I am able to print the photo for the girls.  Yea Mom!

My daughter will be so excited to give this to her friends next week when she returns to school.

I've included the two best photos of her gang.

The most difficult thing I had with taking the photo was getting the girls to "squeeze" together so I didn't have so much of my "junk" in the background.  I hate having those distractions in the background. :)  Oh, well.  It's still a great photo of all of them.  They are all smiling, too.  BONUS!

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Best wishes for a Joyous New Year in 2015!

Getting ready for the Holiday's

Last weekend was spent making & ordering my digital Christmas gifts and cards.  It took me 4 days in between working and other activities.  I am happy to say that I was able to get everything ordered in time for Holiday shipping cut-offs.  My cards arrived on Tuesday (only 2 days) and I got notice tonight that my 2 calendars are shipping & will be here mid-week next week.  How wonderful it that!  Kudos to Panstoria Print Shop for such a quick turnaround time on my orders.

Tonight the kids put up the tree & the lights.  Now that all of the lights are working it looks great!  Over 1000 tiny white lights on the tree...I think it looks great just like this.

Someone please tell me how when you 'test' all of the lights before putting them on the tree how is it that when you're done you still have a string or two that doesn't light??  We spent the evening watching our favorite Christmas shows on DVD.  Started out with The Little Drummer Boy, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, The Cricket on the Hearth, and last but not least Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  Tomorrow we'll add the decoration & watch A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart. (one of my favorites.) 

Tomorrow will be setting up the rest of the outside lights & manger scene if all goes well & the weather cooperates.  I may even attempt a few more digital photo gifts if time allows.  I definitely need to get my cards in the post.

Here's a sneak peak at our family Christmas card:

due to being pressed for time this year I reused the template from last year and changed out some of the embellishments, changed the colors of them and added a glow.  I also added the house with the snow because we had a storm the day before Thanksgiving.  It's been a very hectic year for us, especially with our son graduating from high school, he just earned Eagle and our daughter was in her 1st pageant this year, and it's the only year they both will be in marching band together.  A lot of special memories for all of us.

I hope you'll remember me next year if you'd like to design your own cards.  I'm glad to help you out, I just need your thoughts & photos before November 1st so I can complete & order them in plenty of time for you.

Holiday Shipping Guidelines - 2014

During the holidays our standard manufacturing time increases from 3 - 5 business days to 7 - 10 days before shipping.
To ensure you receive your order before December 25th, we recommend that you place your order on or before these deadlines.

For shipments to the United States:
Wednesday, December 3 - USPS Priority Mail and UPS Ground shipments
Monday, December 8 - UPS 2nd Day Shipments
Wednesday, December 10 - UPS Next Day Shipments