Free Shutterfly Christmas Cards

 50 Free Holiday Cards for Bloggers. Wahoo!!

I discovered Shutterfly.com in 2003 and it was love at first sight.

Shutterfly is a wonderful, photo developing service. Ever tried to develop pictures at Wal-Mart? Maybe you had to wait while someone developed a bazillion pictures or someone waited for you. The beauty of Shutterfly is pictures can edited and ordered from the comfort of home and the pictures are mailed right to you.

Shutterfly sells all things picture related. I've ordered prints, calendars, Digital Photo Albums, mugs, magnets, cards, etc. They have all kinds of fun, quality products. I've certainly done my share to keep this company in business. I can't say enough good things about them.

Up for your consideration today is their Christmas cards. These turn out really nice. I've ordered some for the last few years and love the quality.

This year I discovered their Holiday Story Cards. They offer a number of cute front covers. Then the inside allows for more pictures and places to write captions. (To the right is one example of an inside) You could even have your Christmas letter written inside. To make sending Christmas cards easier, they also sell holiday address labels.

Here are some favorites:

   

 This last one would be good for a family with lots of children. Change the months to kid's names.

Best of all, Shutterfly has a great offer for Bloggers. Post about their Holiday greeting cards and they'll give you 50 free cards. I have no idea how long this offer is good for, so if you're remotely interested you should jump on it. To check it out, click here.

Lani's License Plate

If Lani had a car and could afford vanity license plates this would be hers. Here's the breakdown:

 *She lives in Wisconsin

* The numbers are 998 and she was born in September of 1998

* Her initials are LRV

* The bottom left sticker says March and her half birthday is in March.

* The bottom right number is 11 and she was 11 years old when the picture was taken.

We saw this license plate on a car while running errands. We didn't have a camera with us so took this with my friend's cell phone. (Then had to wait until her computer techie son could get it off the cell phone.) 

This was especially fun because Lani isn't a common name and she never finds it on personalized products. We can find Christina, Andrew, Erica, Anna, and Amy pretty easy, but never Kiah or Lani.

Lani started a license plate collection four years ago and is always looking at license plates. So far, this one is her favorite.

How Young Girls Amuse Themselves at a Wedding

 Our family went to a beautiful fall wedding last Saturday. Keith performed the wedding,Christina and Erica helped take pictures, and I helped in the kitchen. 

At the end of the day, when all the dust had settled, we found these pictures on the camera. Thus this photo tribute to how young girls amuse themselves at a wedding:

 Pass out programs

 Play with little kids

 Make faces

 Take pictures of themselves

 Take pictures of shoes

 And shoe shadows

 Run through the woods like fairies

 Jump for joy

 Have a fantabulous time.

I suspect they had more fun than the adults

Monday Mugs - Pink

 Yes, folks, Angie once again sneaks in under the wire. I don't even have the excuse that I couldn't find pictures, because if there's one thing we do have around this house, it's PINK.

  

From the Archives circa 2007

Omaha Zoo Trip

(Erica didn't get the memo that 

girls were supposed to wear pink) 

2009

2010

They're wearing pink, I promise.

To view more Pink Monday Mugs photos,
click over to Oswald Cuties

 Are you in need of a mindless Monday Blog post? Do you struggle with the weekend being over and can't muster the strength to type a single word? Well, Monday Mugs is for YOU!

Mondays are hard! 

Blogging on Mondays shouldn't be!

The Little Red Rooster

Once upon a time there was a Little Red Rooster who loved to plant things but he had a postage stamp size yard and no room for a garden. 

He bought two seedlings and asked, "Who will help me plant these tomato plants?" 

"Not I." said his hen who did not want tomatoes growing on the front porch.
"Not I," said his oldest chick who hasn't planted anything in years.
"Not I," said his two youngest chicks who were too busy playing to help.

"Then I will plant them myself," said the Little Red Rooster.
And he did.

He waited until his hen went to Oregon to visit her mother and then planted tomatoes in two pots on the front porch.

"Who will help me water these tomato plants?" He asked.

"Not I," said his hen, who eyed the growing plants with resentment. 
"Not I," said the oldest chick who worked seven days a week and was rarely home.
"Not I," said the two youngest chicks who were too busy swimming to help.

"Then I will water the plants by myself."
And he did.

These plants were his pride and joy. He lovingly watered and fertilized them and daily checked on his growing tomatoes, while visions of BLTs danced in his head. 

He panicked when his friend's tomatoes ripened and his didn't. He asked for advice and learned tomatoes need at least 50 degree weather at night to ripen. Northern Wisconsin gets colder than that at night. What to do? What to do?

"Who will help me cover the tomato plants at night?" the Little Red Rooster asked.

"Not I," said his hen, who figured when all was said and done, it was cheaper to buy store tomatoes.

"Not I," said his oldest chick who had started a new job and wasn't home much.

"Not I," said his two youngest chicks who were too busy with school work to help.

"Then I will handle this myself," he said.

And he did.

He waited until his hen was gone and brought the tomatoes plants into the kitchen. If she didn't want the plants on the front porch, she for sure didn't want them in the kitchen!!! He claimed he didn't notice the smell. He growled at his cats who tried to knock the finally ripening tomatoes off the plant. 

He waited again until his hen was gone (do you notice a pattern here?) as she had not been one bit supportive of his endeavor. And he picked the biggest tomato, fried bacon, made a BLT and ate it ALL BY HIMSELF.

The End.

(Coming soon, "Peppers on the Porch," the exciting sequel to "The Little Red Rooster)

Monday Mugs - Fall

Fall through Erica's eyes.

To view more Fall Monday Mugs photos, 
click over to Oswald Cuties. 

 Are you in need of a mindless Monday Blog post? Do you struggle with the weekend being over and can't muster the strength to type a single word? Well, Monday Mugs is for YOU!

Mondays are hard! 

Blogging on Mondays shouldn't be!

Seven Siblings

Second installment of wedding photos. Andrew and Rachel got married last May, but I just got the wedding pictures from them last month so that's why they're being shown now. Sibling relationships - and 80 percent of Americans have at least one - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust. ~Erica E. Goode, "The Secret World of Siblings," U.S. News & World Report, 10 January 1994

To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. ~Clara Ortega~

Christina

"If you don't understand how you could both love your sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."       -Linda Sunshine-

Kiah

Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring - quite often the hard way. ~ Pamela Dugdale

Erica

Sometimes being a brother is better than being a superhero.
~ Marc Brown ~
Anna

It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on...someone to tell on! ~ Unknown

 Amy

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.

~ Marion C. Garretty ~

Last, but not least, LaniThe Grand Finale

Monday Mugs - Orange

Took me all day to think of a picture for Monday Mug's Orange category.  I'm using pictures Erica took yesterday of our town's prominent landmark, The Ashland Oredock. The local high school takes their mascot's name from this, calling themselves "The Ashland Oredockers."

This was built decades ago to load ore into ships. It hasn't been used for 40 years and will be taken down when funding becomes available. The Oredock makes for some cool pictures and will be missed by the residents of Ashland.  

Check out other variations on an
orange theme at Oswald Cuties.

Wedding Pictures - Part 1

When Andrew and Rachel visited last month, they brought an eagerly anticipated disc of 1200 wedding pictures, which after long consideration we narrowed down to 46 favorites. Don't panic, they won't all be shown at once.

Today's category is Family.

Taking pictures for three hours was a bit of a strain for my boy. It's a wonder his smiler didn't wear out. To his credit, for the most part he cooperated.

Love this one as it captured a sweet candid
moment between the two men in my life.

Rachel pointed out, "My family at holidays when relatives comes is the size of your family on a regular basis." We suspect we overwhelm her at times.

Thinking Keith and I are showing our age.

Grandma Vik, who is doing good for 85

Fourteen Viks

Rachel's Family

"To keep the marriage brimming
With love in the wedding cup
Whenever you're wrong, admit it.
Whenever you're right, shut up.
--Ogden Nash--

How To Have a Fun 21st Birthday

1. Say in a firm voice, "I want to celebrate my birthday on the actual day. Not whenever you get around to it like what usually happens.

Hear Mom explain, "But Kiah, Dad has a church meeting that night.

2. Decide to do it anyway.

3. Cook a yummy meal:

*Chicken Alfredo with homemade noodles
*Sauteed Zuchinni and Mushrooms
*Broccoli and Grape Salad
*Green Salad
*Homemade Bread
*White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

4. Invite Friends

Playful friends

Young friends
Blonde Friends
Hungry Friends
Sister Friends
Smiling Friends

Nice Friends

Lots of Friends

A birthday is just the first day of a

365 day journey around the sun.

Enjoy the trip.

We love you Kiah.