I probably already have, but let me introduce you to one of my FAV photog blogs that I follow...Bobbi and Mike.
They are not officially my Christmas Card heroes.
Check out their cards from years past...
2007
2008
and 2009
Well for this years card, they went the awkward family photo route...and boy did it pay off! If you haven't been to or heard of that site...you are missing. Stop reading and go now...it will make the following photos that much more...high-larious!
Go now...! I'll wait.... .....
You back?
Ok...check it...this is SO great!!
Seriously, I nearly peed my pants. You need to go check out their blog and see all the photos larger...it's SO worth it.
So...warning to Husby...next year...it's SO ON...our Christmas Card needs to be THIS epic.
And to those of you still waiting on your Christmas card from us...giggle, shuffling feet, giggle...well my hospital stay got in the way, then I was over it, then I remember that free cards shouldn't be wasted, then I decided to compile the cards together with a whamo-bamo-New-Years card and waaahhhllaaa. So you can expect to see it soon-ish with some wonderful New Years love thrown in for good measure :)
And remember...when you are planning your next Christmas photo...find the biggest wreath you can, stand behind it and S M I L E...
So...remember this post last week when I talked about the....*ahheeemmmm* "pain in my butt?"
Well, that pain in the butt landed my butt in the hospital. Yerp. You heard right. On Tuesday afternoon I went to my Primary for a "follow-up" on the pain meds and antibiotics that they had given me the week prior. Meds that I thought were working because I felt the pain was, well shrinking. And it was...but the fever I had been enjoying since Sunday was still hanging around, to the tune of 100 degrees. That she was not comfortable with. Yeah, she said she wasn't comfortable with it. Look lady I haven't been comfortable for close to a week and half...grrr. Anywho...onto the ER I went. Doc wanted me to get some IV antibiotics and fluids. I assumed that would mean just a night in the ER, that I could handle.
Well...you know what they say about assuming right?
Yeah.
So, after about 3 hours in the ER and a visit with a surgeon...since it was rumored that there may be a lancing or two near my...rear region...I was told that my little trip the ER was turning into my very first hospital stay.
stink.
So, admitted I was. First I went over to the transitional care unit. Which is also known as the "go-wait-in-a-new-bed-for-another-hour-or-two-till-your-upstairs-bed-is-ready." I know, I was glad they shortened it too, makes it easier.
It was in the TCU that I got my first shot of pain medicine. And I am talking the good stuff too. Dilaudid.
I kinda felt like this for about 15 minutes...
Gosh, you can find anything on youtube.com haha :)
Then it was up to the med-surg floor where I thought I would be spending the next 24 hours. haha.
24 hours later I found out...I would be staying another night. Yeah, I cried and kinda threw a mini-fit.
Anywho. I survived. Husby went out and came back with candy and snackies and a movie...one that I tried to watch but fell asleep once my Benadryl kicked in. Yeah, about that...I was kinda allergic to one of the antibiotics. My head and neck would itch horrible and I would get a ring around my hairline and my ears would be like they were on fire...so before I would get my dose I got a dose of Benadryl...goodtimes.
The 2nd night was much better. I finally found the sweet spot on the bed. Yeah, FYI there is totally a hospital bed sweet spot, find it and find rest. I think I will embroider that on a pillow for my next friend in the hospital.
So, there we were Thursday afternoon and Doc came in and said I could GO HOME...oh those were magic words. If he hadn't just been checkin' out my tush I would have probably hugged him. And by "checkin' out my tush" I absolutely meant in the medical sense.
Husby and I packed up quicker than you could blink and then we were outta there!! I was so glad to be home. I didn't plan to miss two days of work. I didn't plan to miss addressing and sending out my already-late Christmas cards. I didn't plan to wait till Christmas Eve to finish stocking shopping for my Mother-in-Law. Grrrr...but I knew this. I could SIT...finally. I could LAY...finally. So my stay, albeit inconvenient had served it's purpose and I was well again. *cue the angel chorus...HALLELUJAH!*
I made it home before the Holidays and had a wonderfully low key Christmas with Husby (pictures to come) and my Family and it's just been great. The house is finally clean and laundry is getting caught up and I am playing with new Christmas toys. (pictures to come)
So, I hope that you and yours had a great Christmas and we pray that your New Year will be blessed and full of memories!
Memories free of pains-in-the-butt, the need for Dilaudid (even though it was fun while it lasted) and hospital stays! :)
So long story short...on a whim one day I went and requested tickets to the Martha Stewart Show online...and well low and behold I got them! I got so giddy and called my girl Britt and told her the good news! "Don't schedule anything on December 8th! We are going to NYC for the day to see MARTHA!"
It's not like either of us are CRAZY Martha fans, but we are crafty and we love NYC and who doesn't wanna be on TV!?!?!
So we got up BEFORE the butt-crack of dawn and drove to the city...
We walked around a bit and froze our tails off waiting in line for an hour-and-a-half...
This is when we were first in line and REALLY excited...that excitement waned a little bit as we began to freeze...
Then we finally made it inside, and wouldn't you know we were #'s 19 & 20 when it was all said and done...we missed being the 1-15 that got to sit on the floor, but as you will see from photos later, those weren't the best seats in the house...
This is Joey...the "Warm-Up Guy." He did his job well and was a hoot! This is Joey telling us wink, wink about all our giveaways!!! YIPPEEEE FREE STUFF!!
Then it was show time and we got hustled upstairs and into the studio!
All of Martha's crew was hustling and bustling around doing pre-shoots and stills and working on the lighting, etc. The studio was very nice...
There were screens for us to watch the show on and lights hanging from EVERYWHERE...
Then, we had to put the camera away for the show taping...We got to see Lucy Liu, and how to make Persimmon Pudding, and Leather Bracelets and Photo Ornaments and Gift Tags and how to make Tuna Tar-Tar...we got a pudding steamer bundt pan, a cookbook (gigantor) and some preserves all for FREE :) Yeah for giveaways!
Then after the show as question and answer time...and here's MARTHA...
We had such a blast being there!!
And just check out Martha...those heels!!! She rocked them like a champ!
So that's it...that was our day at the Martha Stewart Show...and BOY what a blast it was!! You should totally go request tickets, it's much easier than you think!! We are going to try and go again next year too!!
I have been the worlds laziest, suckiest blogger...my bad.
I've had...well, a bit of a...
...pain in the butt.
Yeah. I won't go into too much detail, but it's been uncomfortable to say the least and it has
brought
me
down.
BUT! I am on the way up now... *cheering and clapping*
Husby and I tried our hand at a craft project for my Mom's stocking...that went...horribly wrong. So I am kinda glad I forgot to take pictures of that to share with ya'll. So we are going to try again, and this time I will be sure to take some photos to share the CORRECT how-to! :)
I will also be sure to post some fun photos from me and my BF's trip to NYC to see MARTHA!! :) Look for that soon!
Oh and I'll share the jolly goodness that is our Holiday decor too.
See I have plans, I will get myself back into the bloggy goodness world too.
OH and there is a giveaway coming soon and the re-introduction of a very important day-of-the-week...
So pain in the butt gone...blogging back in business! :)
So...this is what we decided on for our Christmas Card this year from Shutterfly...it seems as though I may be ruining some sort of Christmas surprise by letting some of my friends see the card before they receive it in the mail...but I like the idea of $25 off my next order by sharing...so here it is! :)
And for those of you who won't be receiving it in the mail...close your eyes and pretend you just opened up this lovely Holiday mail from US! :)
I ran across these a while back. I've seen it done before...but these just caught my eye. What a great idea! I think I am going to whip some up for my soon to be completed (and when I say soon to be complete, I mean like maybe in the next 6 months!! More details on that later!) Craft/Photo Studio.
I think they would make a great way to showcase some of my favorite photos, or ideas for crafts, fabric scraps...oh ANYTHING!Check out the photos and tutorials!
I spent about an hour of the afternoon yesterday wrapping presents...which I love to do. See...my Christmas-ey happy face...
The dogs were hoovering around...they knew I was wrapping gifts for them! Olive actually noticed them still in the bags and was sniffing and wagging her tail like a crazy pup!
Then she perched up on a chair to watch me wrap them...
She's such a cutie...I can't even stand it some days!
Husby was home yesterday evening a little under the weather and he said that she somehow managed to get into one of her presents and rip the end open. haha! Dad caught her in the act and moved all the puppy presents up high so they couldn't reach them till Christmas Eve...which is when we open presents. Then the rest of the night Olive excitedly jumped around the tree and sat and stared at the presents just begging us to "please let me open just ONE!" haha!
No such luck sweetheart...you have 19 days...just like Mom and Dad! :)
So I mentioned something special coming your way...well here it is!!
I tend to get bored easily...and sometimes the only fix is to get creative. Well this endeavor has grown out of a few of those moments.
I wanted to be able to offer them to my readers, my followers, my peeps...and to their friends and family! You can purchase any printable design, then receive the digital download file and print as many times as you would like. They would make a great framed gift for a co-workers desk, office space or just on the refrigerator as a reminder!
Print your downloaded design any size up to 11x14!!
Here are just a couple of my initial designs. Many more coming out within the next week or two, so check back.
<----- You can watch my side bar for a rotating preview of new designs. Or visit our Printables page to purchase!
I know most of you are in the middle of planning your Christmas Cards, just like I am. I really do love to send them, although I haven't for almost 4 years!!! I know, I'm such a slacker! This year is different. With my growing photography business, I was able to take some photos of Cory and I and our Family, so there are some great photos to choose from!! So I am really excited to share them this year, and to take a moment out to wish all of our Friends and Family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
There are so many great styles to choose from, I just don't have any idea how I am going to pick just one!!! Well, I do know this...I will be heading over to Shutterfly for my cards!!
I am excitedly designing and searching through all of their cards, trying to find the one that works the best with the photos that I want to share! Many of their designs are perfectly designed, modern, fun and oh so festive!
See??!?! Shutterfly is amazing!! My favorite so far is the Top 10 Card...I would love to be able to share my favorite memories from the year!! Of course then it's about narrowing down my favorite 2010 memories...there have been so many!!
Alright, well I am OFF to pick out my card...want 50 of your own Holiday Cards for free?? Well, fellow Bloggers...follow this link!
I was not paid by Shutterfly for my comments on their holiday cards. However, Shutterfly is providing bloggers who blog about their cards with 50 free photo cards. This post contains my honest opinion about Shutterfly's photo cards.
