'Tis The Season

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved Christmastime because I loved going to the mailbox every day and getting all of the Christmas cards from family and friends! It was always fun to see the pictures of our relatives from across the country that we rarely got to see (and in the pre-Facebook era, it was pretty much impossible to see photos of people unless they came via snail mail!). One family in particular always sent out a wonderfully hilarious Christmas letter each year. It was definitely the highlight of the Christmas cards. To this day, my mom will still call me when the letter comes and read it to me over the phone.

Last year I saw an alarming trend...the e-Christmas card. I got two of these from friends and it made me really sad! I just didn't get the same feeling clicking open on my computer screen as I did when I ripped open an envelope. I vowed that I would always send out Christmas cards to my friends and family, no matter how busy I was that year.

Shutterfly has some AWESOME holiday card options this year. I am having a really hard time deciding!! Check out some of these awesome cards:

I love the traditional look of this one--but in a contemporary way

I'm a HUGE fan of chocolate brown, so this one really speaks to me
I love the use of black with bright colors on it. I have several rolls of wrapping paper that look like this


I have used Shutterfly for a number of things over the years. I have made four photo books chronicling the first 18 months of Jack's life. They are amazing! I have been able to completely customize the books with captions and all the photos that I want.

I have also created several photo calendars (most recently, one for my mom for Christmas). I love the new layouts that they created this year!!

I am not throwing any holiday parties this year, but I was, I would totally send out some of these invitations. They are fantastic!

I also love these photo cards for the holidays! I created this one for our family

Picture Joy Christmas

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I think that they are absolutely adorable! Again, you can see that I love the brown!

So, if you are looking for some great cards to send out this holiday season, make sure you check out Shutterfly!!

30 Before 30

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. As I enter the last year of my 20's, I decided to create a list of things I would like to do before my 30th birthday. Here we go...30 before 30.

1. Lose 20 pounds.
2. Have a weekend getaway with my husband...alone.
3. Pay off my remaining credit card debt.
4. Paint my living room.
5. Exercise three times a week.
6. Take Jack to the park as often as the weather allows.
7. Read to Jack every night before bed...as many books as he wants.
8. Be a better wife to my husband. Make sure he knows how wonderful he is every single day.
9. Cook more meals for my family.
10. Take a week off of work and don't check my email or voice mail the entire week.
11. Finally put all of the photos I have taken and printed of Jack into photo albums.
12. Get one evening with my friends each month.
13. Visit my best friend at her new house for a weekend.
14. Read one book a month for fun.
15. Clean my office at work and purge all of the old files that are cluttering my life!
16. Bake more tasty treats for my family and friends
17. Visit the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Science Center, and the Zoo.
18. Go to Chicago for a fun weekend of shopping and museums.
19. Go to at least two new restaurants in St. Louis.
20. Try a new food
21. Publish an article
22. Help Ryan get a job that he will love.
23. Run a 5K
24. Get my wisdom teeth taken out (no, this isn't fun...but it needs to be done!)
25. Spend more time with my mom and sister
26. Enroll Jack in day care two days a week so that he can socialize with other kids.
27. Be a better friend to the great people in my life
28. Drink more water every day
29. Make sure Jack feels unconditional love every day of his life
30. Find the perfect outfit to wear for my 30th birthday

Day 9: A Photo You Took

Well, I take a lot of photos, so this was hard.  I’m going to not post any pictures of Jack, because that would be too easy.

Let’s start with a funny one!  I encountered this van in downtown St. Louis a couple years ago.  The van literally has a window unit air conditioner.  It cracks me up to this day!!!

I took the next two pictures on my honeymoon.  The first is at the ruins at Chichen Itza.  I love this picture for whatever reason.  It was taken with a very basic point and shoot camera, but I love it!

This next picture is also from our Honeymoon and is of Ryan on the beach outside our hotel.  I love the beach and the aqua blue water.  And I love him, so it’s a picture full of love!

That’s all I am going to add for today!

A photo that makes you angry/sad

When I saw this on the list, I knew that there was only one photo I could post.

This is newborn Jack with my grandma.  This is the last photo ever taken of my grandma.  She passed away less than a week later.  She was so excited to meet her great grandson. 

I have such mixed emotions about this picture.  On one hand, I am so happy that we have it.  I’m so glad that grandma got to meet Jack and was able to hold him.  She loved babies to much and I know that she loved him from the moment I told her I was pregnant.  On the other hand, it makes me so sad because I miss her so much.  She was such a major part of my life and I still have a hard time believing that she is really gone.  It’s been over a year and I still reach for my phone to call her when something happens. 

When someone you love passes away, its strange how random things will make you think of them, or make you sad.  The thing that caught me completely off guard this year was Cardinals opening day.  My grandma was a die hard Cardinals fan.  She started collected the team sets of baseball cards for my two cousins, Matthew and Jonathan.  Every year, the first game I went to, I would buy her those sets of cards.  This year, I went to opening day and was in the team shop.  I thought, “oh, I’m going to ask if they have the team cards yet so I can pick them up for grandma”.  Yeah, I started crying in the team store. 

I know that grandma is watching over Jack everyday and keeping him safe.  I will always treasure this photo, even if it makes me sad to look at it right now.

Day 7: A Photo that makes you happy

And now I will bore you with lots of photos that make me happy!

I love this first photo because Jack looks so little in it!!

My little Cardinals fan!

HA HA HA HA HA HA!!  I love this!  It was his first attempt at cereal and it’s hilarious!!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Jack.  I cannot believe how little he looks in it!  I loved this outfit so much!

Happy baby!

My little used car salesman!

My big boy walking around the yard

I can’t even begin to describe my love of this picture.  Jack and the monkey have basically the same expression!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
 

Our family on Mother’s Day

My two favorite little people…even if they had no interest in having their picture taken together.  I just love this picture because they look like they are the same size!  Poor Ava is 10 months older but now weighs less than Jack!

These are my students that I work with.  This was our group photo from this year!  I love them all dearly.  I am so fortunate to work with a great group of kids every year.  I am a mom to 20 great college kids every year and that is awesome! 

This was Jack’s first time meeting Fredbird!  And he made fun of me!  Oh well…he signed a copy of the picture to Jack!  Makes me laugh!

These are three of my favorite people in the world.  I love them dearly!

My love


This was Mother’s Day 2009.  Jack was born about two weeks later.  I am hugely pregnant and I remember how miserable I was!  But, I love this picture of me, my mom, my sister, and my beautiful niece Ava.

I love pictures and I take so many of them!  I could go on forever, but I will stop there!

Day 6: 20 of my favorite things

20 of my favorite things. Alright…here we go!

1. My beautiful son, Jack
2. My patient, forgiving husband, Ryan
3. My huge, extended family
4. My amazing friends
5. Crisp, Fall weather
6. My job and my coworkers
7. French fries…yup, I love them!
8. McDonalds Coke…although I have pretty much given it up
9. Baking delicious treats
10. Giving someone a gift that they love
11. A relaxing evening on the couch
12. Clean sheets
13. Glee…it totally makes my list!
14. Watching a great new movie
15. Miniature golf
16. St. Louis Cardinals baseball
17. A new outfit
18. Watching Jack learn something new. It’s absolutely amazing
19. A great night out with friends
20. Vacation! I would love one right now!

I could go on and on…these are the first 20 things that popped into my head, so I’m sure that I have forgotten a million things!

Day 5: Favorite Quote

Favorite Quotes…this was a little harder than the previous four days! I guess that my favorite quote of all time is:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

When I was Student Body President during college, I had to select a quote to write on a chair that stays in the President’s office. It has been signed by a lot of former Student Body Presidents. This was the quote that I chose for that chair. I feel like it speaks volumes of the impact that individuals can have on the world.

All of my other favorite quotes are either from movies or random things that my friends and I have said. I think I will keep those private!! :)

Day 4: Favorite Book

I will be kind of glad when I get past these “favorite” categories.  I cannot pick just one!  I’m a pretty avid reader, but I will be the first to admit that I don’t read anything too serious.  I’m a major fan of chick lit.  In the course of getting my bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, I had to read plenty of stuff that I didn’t want to, so now I read things that entertain me.  Here are a few of my favorites.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I could probably read this book over and over again.  It’s probably one of the only books that I have read more than once or twice.  Ever since I read it in middle school, it’s been on my bookshelf.

The Little Prince or Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I absolutely love this book.  This was the first book that I read completely in French and I fell in love with it.  I can’t wait to read it to Jack and have him love it too!

Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
Such a tear jerker!  I love it!  I couldn’t put it down when I read it.

LA Candy by Lauren Conrad
Yup, I am that girl…I bought this book (and it’s sequel) and read them in just a couple days. 

Anything by Nicholas Sparks.  I’m a sucker for those books!! 

Again, those are just a few of my favorites!

Day 3: Favorite TV Show

“Make It Or Break It”
Yup…again…I’m a 13 year old girl.  I am pretty much on board with any of the ABC Family Shows.  Okay, mainly four of them…this one, Greek, Secret Life of the American Teenager and Pretty Little Liars!!

“How I Met Your Mother”
It’s just hilarious.  Neil Patrick Harris rocks my world!

“Modern Family”
This is my favorite new half hour comedy.  Yup, I have plenty of “favorite” categories.  If you have not watched this show, I highly recommend it. 

“Grey’s Anatomy”
A perpetual favorite.  It was getting a little crazy (I mean the whole Izzy having ghost sex with Denny…come on!), but they totally got me back with the finale last year.  It was just so awesome! 

“The West Wing”
This still qualifies as probably my favorite show of all time.  I still watch the reruns on Bravo.  I have all the seasons on DVD and watch them a lot.  This happens to be one of my favorite scenes ever. 

I have so many other favorite shows that I don’t miss…including: Private Practice, Teen Mom (yup, I am ridiculous), Friends, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and 24.  I am also a reality TV junkie.  I will pretty much watch anything! 

What are your favorite shows?

Day 2: Favorite Movie

Just like music, I cannot pick just one favorite movie!  I have favorite movie’s for different moods.  Here are a few:

“The American President”
It’s just so funny!  I will watch it anytime, anywhere!  I have probably seen it at least 500 times and can recite most of the movie verbatim!  This is one of my favorite scenes.

“Beauty and the Beast”
Still my favorite Disney movie.  I own it in English and French…because I’m that ridiculous!

“Beaches”
Because I am a girl and I love to cry!  I will watch this movie anytime it is on TV…and cry like a baby every time!  I also love Bette Midler!

“Steel Magnolias”
Where to even start with this movie!  It’s a classic!! 

“Center Stage”
This is a classic in my book!  It’s just so good! 

“Juno”
Again, I will watch this anytime it is on TV.  It’s amazing!!

So, yeah, I like some pretty typical girl movies!!