Christmas Cards, part 2

Everyone,

Since I am trying to figure out what to write about every day during this month, I thought I'd take Karen's questions about my Christmas cards and tell my process of picking them. Here goes:

Mid October- Think: oh, I have to do Christmas cards this year. I wonder if I have any pictures? Decide then and there not to specifically do a picture for the card but use one I have taken throughout the year. Wonder where I should get Butterfly and Soot's formal picture taken this year because we do every year. Wish parents were around to take them since she was so good for them at her birthday and is so so bad for me. Be glad that they closed the picture taking place in the mall because they had really poor customer service but be sad because they were the only place around that let me bring Soot to join in the picture. Wonder out loud to Juice about it. Be horrified that he said to leave Soot out this year. Not going to happen.

First of November- Think: oh yeah, I haven't really done much for my Christmas cards yet.

Third of November- Get a catalog in the mail from an online picture place. Really enjoy going through it and seeing the new things they have this year. See a card in the back of one picture and really like the idea. Take note of who sent the catalog and vow to look at it online for pricing.

5 of November- Go through Christmas cards on my regular online photo sharing place. Decide I want to share more than 1 picture this year (do I have pictures to share?!) and decide I want something a little fun and not terribly traditional. I then spend about an hour going through my 2007 pictures and pull out all of the ones of the 3 of us together, plus a few of Butterfly that I just absolutely love. (Gotta love the favorites button that puts them all together in a folder for you...nice!) Put together card. Like it but not love it. View a few other cards on a few other sites and not find anything I like. Start to like the card a little more.

9 of November- Show Juice the card. His one comment, "Where's Soot?" It just so happens that the best pictures of all 3 of us do not include the dog. I don't have a problem with it, but Juice does. Mentally complain (slightly) and vow to find a way to put Soot in the card. Scrap first card in head but keep it for reference.

11 of November- Get email for 20% off card purchase and think..ohh...20% off!

18 of November- Finally get back onto the computer for some serious searching for cards. Go to the 20% off place first and find out that it is the same place that put out the catalog I liked. Go searching for card I liked, find it and really like it. Price, eh. Thought I would just put the card together and see if I liked it put together or not. Upload pictures. Arrange on card. LOVE card. Even get Soot on there in a really cute mini picture. Write a tiny blurb about what we did this year. Shorten it even more because it won't all fit on the card. Finalize blurb, spell check it and read it about 10 times. Really like the card enough that I don't go looking for others. Write out who I'm sending them to to figure out how many to buy. Add a few more for scrap booking purposes. Fight with website for about an hour and have to build the card 3 times because time keeps running out. Finally get the card to work, put in my 20% off coupon and blanch a little at the price. Figure I got exactly what I wanted in a card this year and buy it anyway.

19 of November- Anxiously await card delivery and contemplate how I'm going to get Juice to pull out all of our Christmas decorations so I can find my Christmas address book to start addressing. Figure I'll convince him he needs to pull everything out before he leaves to Chicago so I can start decorating. Figure I'll do some cleaning to show him I am serious. Wonder if he'll consent to putting up the tree this weekend. Would solve my address book dilemma. Decide that's the way to go. Plan on going to the post office tomorrow to get stamps. Rejoice that so many companies send address labels (Christmas themed ones too!) that I will never have to buy another address label again as long as I live.

Safire