Shutterfly Projects

I use Shutterfly for a number of photo needs - print, invites, notecards and photobooks. They are working on our holiday cards as I speak!

Below is an example of one of the projects I created at Shutterfly. It's a picture Dave took of the field last year. This was an invitation to a football party we hosted. What have you OR could you create at Shutterfly?

Classic Without Edge 5x7 folded card

Unique party invitations and greeting cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly's Holiday Promotion

It's around this time every year that I start to think about our family holiday card. Of course, I always want to get the perfect photo and then find just the right card for it. I was excited to see that Shutterfly had some new layouts this year. I have used Shutterfly photo cards many times in the past - for birthday invitations, thank you's, party invitations and of course, holiday cards. See - Shutterfly is way more than just a place to develop your photos!

While I don't yet have that perfect holiday photo, I enjoyed looking at all of the holiday designs. Looking at the Christmas cards, I thought the Pictures in Red card was beautiful. I love the idea of being able to showcase several photos, not just one. That's great for the times when you just can't decide!

I exchange holiday cards with many of the families at our church. I was glad to see the selection of Religious Cards. The sentiment on the Faith and Family card says it all.

I haven't ever sent out cards for Thanksgiving, but I think it's a super idea! I would love to get a card that shared someone's thankfulness. When I saw the Season of Thanks Fall Invitation, I thought it could also make a good name card or menu display.

So, no matter what photo I choose, I know I can find just what I need at Shutterfly!

Hoping for Results. Good Results

Tomorrow, I have an appointment at the Spine Institute. A long overdue appointment, I must add. I hurt my back/hip tubing this summer at the Ozarks. It was bumpy that day (made Dave seasick) and the way I sat in the tub, I got jammed in. Every wave we hit, jammed me deeper in the tube. It hurt for a few weeks but then felt better. Then, Thanksgiving weekend, the day of the state football championship, I did something to hurt it again. I blame Christmas decorations :) Regardless, it has hurt since then. I finally broke down and went to the doctor in March. She ordered back and hip x-rays. I was hoping this would give me an answer of what was wrong. Well, the x-rays were "clear" which meant nothing was broken. I could have diagnosed that! She told me to wait it out, thinking it would get better. Of course, nothing got better. So she referred me to the Spine Institute. For tomorrow. I want to think positively - that they will find what's wrong and make it better. But then, I think back to last summer and this:



My allergy testing. 144 injections. Which told me that I am allergic to nothing. NOTHING. But didn't explain all of my sinus problems, sneezing, itching, scratchy voice, etc. So, needless to say, I am a little hesitant about tomorrow. Worried that I will go in there and they won't be able to find anything wrong. And then I will cry. Real hard.

Ruby Relaxer

1 part Peach Schnapps
1 part Vodka
1 part Malibu
3 parts cranberry juice
3 parts pineapple juice

Yum-o!

Vitamin D

Do you believe all of the hype about Vitamin D? I am starting to think I do. Last winter, I tanned all winter. I didn't do it to get tan but instead I was thinking the warmth and light would help my mood. I didn't think it made a difference and I was crazy busy at work this winter so I didn't tan. Well, guess what? I think that tanning and the Vitamin D maybe did help! So, I started tanning again today. Let's hope my mood improves soon :)

I *heart* food blogs

I follow a lot of blogs. A lot. Like 125 or so. Some of them are related to my job. Several of them are coupon/money-saving sites. I follow a few celebrities and TV show wrap-ups. But a majority of the blogs have to do with food, cooking, restaurants, eating, etc. I love to see the photos, read the recipes, investigate techniques. If I had more time and planned meals more ahead of time, I too would love to maintain a food blog. My mom often calls to borrow recipes. I am actually thinking about starting a separate blog to digitally record my recipes. Tonight would have been a great night to record my cooking and recipes - I think I made the most creative use of leftovers that I ever have. Here's the background:

We had a small party for the girls on Saturday to celebrate their birthdays (Kelsey on the 15th and Kaitlyn on the 28th). I got a meat and cheese tray from the store. When I ordered it, I saw you could also buy a condiment tray. For only $10 it came with pickles, olives, shredded lettuce, onions, sliced tomatoes and multicolored peppers. It was actually really pretty - I should have taken a picture. We had some chips and different dips too - including Kaitlyn's favorite taco dip. We all ate well but there were lots of leftovers. Yesterday, I had to babysit for some friends. I knew I wanted to do something with chicken for supper so I put some in the crockpot to cook while all 4 kids played. Since there was still lots of good stock still in the crockpot, I decided to cook more chicken for the week. I went ahead and made chicken divan for dinner last night.

Tonight for dinner, I knew I would make schezwan chicken for Dave with some of the extra chicken I cooked last night. I didn't want any and I knew the girls wouldn't eat it either. So, I asked if they wanted tacos. I dismantled the leftover taco dip to make some yummy, meaty, melted cheesy tacos for them. I went ahead and just ate the taco dip along with my margarita. It is National Margarita Day after all! Even after making Dave's dinner, I still had leftover chicken. We are all busy this week with basketball, church, 4H and birthdays so I knew I needed to do something with it. Then I saw the condiment tray still in the fridge. Guess what I made to put in the freezer? Chicken fajitas! To the chicken I added the peppers, onions and tomatoes along with some taco seasoning. When I go to make them, I will add some salsa as the liquid. Genius, if I do say so myself :)

Monkey Muffin Recipe

Monkey Muffins

1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 bananas, very ripe

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Grease up muffin tin (recipe yields 9 muffins although we made them mini).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a seperate bowl, mash up bananas with a fork. Mix in sugar, egg, butter and vanilla. Mix to combine.
4. Now have wet ingredients meet dry ingredients. Slowing start adding in the dry ingredients, mixing as you go until just combined. Last, toss in chocolate chips. Fold mixture over to distribute the chipsthroughout the muffin mix.
5. Fill muffin tins almost to the top, and bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes.

These muffins are super moist and yummy still warm from the oven.