My Quest for a Photographer

Today my big mission is to find a photographer for my wedding ceremony. This is one of the most important parts of planning a wedding, to me, and I'm going to be honest - I feel sorry for whomever I choose. From scanning a multitude of photography sites already today, it seems to me that anyone who buys a nice digital camera suddenly thinks that they are photographers. However, they have absolutely no concept of how to capture light or how to pose people. They photoshop their pictures to death in an attempt to resuscitate them... it's rediculous! I know I'm terribly picky, but at the same time, I find it rather offensive to be offered sub-par snapshots and be charged several thousand dollars!

Ok. That's my whine for today! LOL!

Shutterfly Inside Scoop!

I'm a huge, huge fan of Shutterfly and recommend them to anyone and everybody I can - especially when it comes to putting your Digital Scrapbooking Layouts into a photo book. They are absolutely fabulous. That being said, I just wanted to let you know - if you're not a member yet - they are having a new promotion where they are giving 50 free 4x6 prints and an 11x14 Collage Poster when you sign up! Their ads don't even reflect this awesome offer yet! If you're interested, just click the ad below and sign up. I am also including a link at the top of the page for easy access if you would like to do it later. Enjoy!

Tiger Did It...

Ok, I hate to admit this, but as I approach 40, I am really noticing my eyesight deteriorating! Almost 10 years ago, when it was first becoming popular, I had Lasik done to both eyes. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself! It was painless, a quick recovery and suddenly the trees had leaves and my alarm clock had numbers! It was amazing! Now I'm thinking I'm probably spending too much time on the computer and am going to need it again.

I'm only wishing the whole process was covered by insurance. It's only fair, don't you think, since it's only returning my eyesight to what it should have been in the first place - it's only bringing my eyesight up to par with the rest of the world.

Hey! Tiger Woods did it... not sure if he had Lasik in San Francisco but I'd be willing to bet it improved his game.

Breathtaking Hint

Well, my blogging has been descending downhill fast as wedding and honeymoon planning have taken up the forefront of my life. So sorry, but I'm not even going to promise to get better until this is all over! LOL!

Here's a hint at what I'm in the middle of planning... Doesn't it just catch your breath?!

Blog Templates

I've had several people email me, inquiring as to how I did the design for my blog. My answer: I didn't! I wouldn't have the first clue as to how to go about designing a blog! LOL! I just do an internet search for blog templates. There are some great sites out there full of all kinds of templates you can use. It doesn't matter which blog platform you prefer, whether you are looking for blogger templates or wordpress templates - you're bound to find something you like. Once it's installed you can customize it to your liking just like you would do to the one you currently have. For example, check out this template, blogs can be beautiful too!

We're Pregnant! Part 3

I am huddled inside today - it's pouring rain outside. In fact it's raining so hard with such a strong wind that the rain is going sideways! I figure it's a good opportunity for me to get searching for a wedding dress. Never having done this (getting married!) before, I had no idea as to the time it takes to get a dress!

Here's Part 3 to "We're Pregnant!" It's 2 more papers with an ultrasound frame. Enjoy!

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Protecting Your Domain Name

I think one of the greater challenge for us Digital Designers is how to sell our designs. Personally, I am more of an artistic-type person. For the most part, I probably only use the artistic side of my brain. (That would explain a lot! LOL!) The business side is more calculating and mathematical... an area I would be happy to ignore. I suspect that's why we have heard of the term "Starving Artist."

I'm sure we could always use a little help when it comes to the business side of designing. So here's an interesting little quiz to take which does a domain name analysis. It asks three simple questions regarding your website's domain name and then gives you a Domain Name Scorecard, evaluating your website's extension, brand protection and descriptive domain. It also gives a few suggestions as to how to improve the Domain Name Score, such as registering for different extensions besides the usual .com, having one or more descriptive domain names that can point to your current site. Give it a try - you may find out a few things you did not know about domain names and their usefulness in our businesses!

We're Pregnant! Part 2

It's a scorching day outside. So I'm staying in to enjoy the airconditionning! Here's the second part to "We're Pregnant!" It's a couple of pieces of paper and the dreaded scale. LOL! Got to add a little humor to it, right?!

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A Busy, Relaxing Day

Ahhhhhhh! A day at home with my boyfriend! To me, this is the ultimate! We've got so much to do to plan our wedding and honeymoon, it's overwhelming! We started by booking some fabulous rooms at an undisclosed location - LOL! I'm not giving away much since we're keeping it mostly secret until we get back! My family's going to kill me! Then we had to got get passport photos done for Michael's passport. We got home to find the termite killers truck outside our neighbours house - that's never encouraging! I'm off to do some more organizing... Have a great weekend! I'll be working...

We're Pregnant!

No, it's not me! No need to give my Mother an early coronary! LOL! It's another kit... and it's all FREE as usual! I'm giving it away piece by piece because I'm redoing, updating and improving it. So here's the first piece:

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The Joys of Outsourcing

Ok I know I cannot be the only person here who is soooooo frustrated by Help Center outsourcing! With my computer in the toilet, I ended up on the phone (for hours!) to God only knows where speaking to "Rob" and "Joe" and "Dave" and "Jack" - are you kidding me?! Are companies really saving money with this, when the customer emerges from the encounter so angry that they are guaranteed to never buy such a product again?!

Where are the good old-fashionned days when we dealt with people who were pleasant and wanting to help? Not reading from a script with 4 lines on it?! It's encouraging to see some companies actually coming up with products to help the customer. We need more communication tools such as ProCallback by Mercia Networks to bring back real customer service!

I've Been Tagged!

Thanks Ginger! As many of you know, tagging is hard work! I'm going to try to give it a go, even though in my recent computer crash I lost my blog list - I keep it in my favorites. I'm still in mourning. LOL!

Seven Random / Weird Facts About Me:

1. I'm getting married this summer!
2. I have a Bucket List that grows every year.
3. I have a disturbing dislike for dogs and cats. No reason for it. It's just there. People think I'm horrible and evil because of this, but don't worry, I'm not into harming them... just don't care to clean up poop and hair.
4. I have more brothers and sisters than anybody I know - 15!
5. I am obsessed with Diet Coke.
6. I am repulsed by a mustache on a man. LOL!
7. I have a fear of sweating.

Ok. Enough embaressing revelations for one day. Here's who I'm tagging:
1. MK Designs: I can't read her blog but I still visit just for the bright designs and gorgeous layouts!
2. Bon Scrapatit Designs: Great designs and great blogging. A blog you actually read!
3. Fei-Fei's Stuff: Absolutely adore her layouts!
4. My Imagination by e-lena: Another blog I can't read but visit just to see what she's designed recently.
5. Hannah: My friend from work who needs to start Digital Scrapbooking!
6. Heather at DigiScrap Dreams: A fairly new blogger who is just the sweetest thing ever.
7. Krystals Scraps: I'm tagging her because I want her to blog more - I love her layouts! LOL!

Checklist

So now I'm suddenly in an all out panic, realizing that I've got to plan a wedding and honeymoon in two and a half months. The wedding's not a huge deal - we're running away and not telling anyone (except those who read this blog, I guess!) What's a little more overwhelming for me is arranging all of the flights, cruise, hotels... I've actually never been on a cruise before, so I have no clue where to start!

So far I've been cruising (no pun intended) cruise websites, reading the forums, which all seem to have a huge amount of advice. Based on this, I've started a list which so far includes necessities such as binoculars, Rayban Sunglasses, raincoat and sensible shoes. If there are any experts with some great advice, I'm all ears!

From Bad to Best

I know! I know! I've been MIA for the last couple of days. Things have been a little crazy around here. First of all, I'm still struggling with my computer, which if you read this blog, you'll know crashed on me about a week ago. I can't even express the enormity of that... Digital Scrapbook designs and downloads, pictures of vacations... for all of the File Recovery programs out there, it's not recoverable. Completely devastating. Anyways, I don't even have my Photoshop installed right now, so this may take some time. Bear with me. I'm not going anywhere.

On a brighter note, my yard finally got mowed, which was a huge deal. I know the Head of the Homeowners Association (who lives across the street, no less) was writing out a fine for me just as they showed up to mow. Haha! Now it actually looks fantabulous!

On an even brighter note, my boyfriend and I are finally at a place where we can start planning our wedding! This has been some time in coming - after a failed attempt last year. So yesterday I booked out Honeymoon - an Alaskan cruise! I am so excited!

It's a Jungle Out There

My yard looks like a jungle. I'm talking so bad that you could put on a pair of tactical pants and hunt elephants in it! The yard service was supposed to come last week but didn't show up despite numerous phone calls. Now it's so embaressing that I am too ashamed to go out and weed the flowerbeds! When I get the mail I scurry out at night so no one can see me in the dark! LOL!

I have 4 days off and I swear if they don't come tomorrow, I'm going to hunt them down myself! Meanwhile, maybe I'll have some time to do some designing while I'm off.

A Woman's Week at the Gym

I got this in my email this morning and had to laugh out loud. If you've ever tried to work out on a regular basis, you'll get a kick out of it.

"Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
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MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo hoo!!

Belinda gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
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TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.
_______________________________

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too.
_______________________________

THURSDAY:

Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. She sent another skinny bitch to find me.

Then, as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.
_______________________________

FRIDAY:

I hate that bitch Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it.

Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
________________________________

SATURDAY:

Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.
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SUNDAY:

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter (the little shit) will choose a gift for me that is actually fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!"