Hello 2010...

Before the clock strikes midnight on this New Year's 2010 and I forget to announce it here, our new blog is live. Check it out and leave a comment so I can make sure our fun comment boxes are working. :)

Goodbye 2009...

On Facebook today I read so many status updates saying good riddance to 2009. For many it was a less-than-great year of ups and downs. I could say the same about my 2009, since the year had its range of events and emotions, but in my book it's been a great year.

Here's 2009 in a nutshell:

• A vacation to California to see friends and family
• An unexpected job loss
• An unexpected call back from the company
• Strengthening my passion for our business and my goals
• The launch of our new website
• Teaching my first semester at a new college
• The opening of our Etsy shop
• Learning so much about myself and business
• The celebrations of friends having little ones
• Much, much more.

The past year has been such a learning experience, and I'm thankful for it and the blessings Dan and I have received. I know, such sappiness. I'm leaving 2009 behind with a positive farewell, and looking forward to all that 2010 may bring.

Happy 2010.

Testing, changing, testing...

Dan and I are doing more work on the new blog today, and I can't wait to reveal it tomorrow. We have been testing things, changing things, making sure things are user-friendly and self-explanatory, and adding some more functionality. I also need to figure out what to write for my first post there. Talk about the pressure of having a blank canvas.

One more day...

After I wrote my title, I got the Diamond Rio song in my head. I'm now listening to it to avoid the inevitable looping that happens when a song is stuck in my head.



Tonight we all get to see a random Christmas tree image that Dan took at his parents' house. He was looking through a green bottle top, and the crazy lights on the left and right are from candle lights in the windows.

Today consisted of having lunch with Ms. Sweet 'n Snarky (who has somehow blogged less than me this year), running errands, stuffing our faces, and working on the new blog. Dan and I need to get ourselves back on a decent sleeping schedule. It looks like a caffeinated all-nighter might be in order, or maybe I just need someone to drag me out of bed before 10:30 for the next few days.

Tomorrow: I have to squeeze in two blog posts to equal 50 for the year, and then this crazy goal I set for myself will be completed. Although, I have to say it was pretty fun and painless up until this week—when I've been busier with nothing to share. If anyone has ideas for tomorrow's two posts, I'm up for suggestions!

So it begins...

This is the part of my blogging marathon where the posts get infinitely more boring.

I stopped being a couch bum today, worked on the iMac again, and started updating our website. Our [shoot] slideshow has been updated to show images from 2009, and there are still more images to be added. Dan also started working on our blog! Insert happy dance here. Actually, he started working on our blog back when the site launched, but it still needed a little bit of work to look like the template I designed. After I designed the template at the beginning of the year, I came up with new ideas throughout the year. Soooooo...I shared all of the notes I had, and we're planning for a New Year's reveal.

Contrary to what it sounds like, I actually have gotten off the couch in the last week. Dan and I got out and ran some errands yesterday. We were both reminded why we don't like to leave the house any time around the holidays, and why we don't shop at Walmart. Call us both Scrooge, but we know what's good for us. ;)

Got Mac?

While I'm royally screwing up my sleeping schedule, I found this little gem from Mashable. It's NOT SAFE FOR WORK, so you've been warned. If you've seen the "I'm on a Boat" video, this is a great spoof.

I'm on a Mac.

Only four more days...

...four more days of:

• listening to me ramble and fill up space
• the month of december
  
• the year 2009
• the decade

Wow. I heard on TV today that it's the last Sunday of the decade, and I hadn't thought about that before hearing it. I accomplished so much, lived through so much, and had so many blessings in this decade, that it's hard to imagine all that can possibly happen in the next decade.


These pictures sum up our weekend—lazy, lazy, lazy, with some laundry and other things. I didn't even take the time to make good pictures. I didn't want to disturb the kitties, so I just used my phone. Merry is on the left, and Urple is on the right.



Sprinkled in with my laziness was a bit of productivity. I finally put together a client feedback survey, and the screenshot above is just a slice of it. Its main purpose is to help us plan for 2010, but I hope to use it as a part of new client work-flow to get feedback and suggestions as we go along. I also made one for non-clients that I may post to our Facebook fan page. It has very different questions (except for the first two), and would help us to know what potential clients think.

That's all I have for today. What can I ramble about tomorrow? :)

Lazy day after Christmas...

We all had a very lazy day around here, spent mostly on the couch. Don't let Urple fool you. When she wasn't watching television she was lounging on the couch, too. It was very nice to be lazy and wear pajamas all day long. We even had pizza delivered for dinner. Merry day after Christmas!

A little Christmas fact: it's been three years since Dan surprised me with our fur babies. When we tried to come up with names for them, two sets of names were in the lead. First, since one was wearing a red collar and the other was wearing a purple collar, we thought of the names Edna (from red) and Urple (from purple, obviously). For the second set of names, since they were our Christmas babies, we thought of the names Merry and Noel.

We started calling the purple-collared kitty Urple and Noel at different times, but she only seemed to answer to Urple. Then, we started calling the red-collared kitty Edna to match with Urple, but all I could think about was an old lady with gray hair. Since I wanted some reminder of Christmas, and I didn't want to think of an old lady every time I called her name, I decided to go with Merry. The names just stuck and somehow fit their personalities perfectly.

I revisited my website notes tonight—notes that I've taken here and there when ideas strike—to see what I want to do over the next week. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the changes and updates. Dan setup our website in a way that is super easy for me to make most changes myself, so I've made some little changes since its launch in April, but I'm just now thinking about how I want to update the bigger things continuously. I won't bore you with it all.

If any of you have to work with website or design clients, this site is too funny not to share. Enjoy. :)

Merry Christmas!

I was beat by the time we got home last night, and we're not yet home tonight, but I don't want to skip another day to post. Too bad I didn't bring a laptop either, crazy me! The iPhone will have to do. Excuse any resulting typos. :)

Christmas for us always includes at least three rounds. On Christmas Eve, we normally get together with both families. Yesterday was no exception. First thing in the morning, we went to our church's Christmas show called Awaited. It has all the pieces and characters you might expect from a Christmas show, but with Crossroads' artistic interpretation. It was awesome! Afterward, we had Dan's family over to our house for lunch and a gift exchange.

We had some time to relax before heading over the river and through the woods to visit my parents. We watched Four Christmases and The Hangover, and had a good time. Even though my younger brother had to work, I did get to see my older brothers, which was nice.

On Christmas, we normally sleep in and have the third round with Dan's family, which includes aunts and uncles compared to Christmas Eve. Since I've known Dan, Christmas has also included putting together his little brothers' Lego contraptions, and today was (again) no exception. His brothers like to play with the finished product rather than building it, which is fun for us. I was a Lego-building machine today and my back is yelling at me for it. I think a massage appointment is well deserved after all of my hard work the past few months.

I think we're about to head home and crash. Having the next week off from the day job is going to be wonderful!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas full of blessings and happiness!

Joe + Maura = Owen [life collection]

On Sunday, we had the pleasure of meeting Joe and Maura's adorable baby boy. Even though he had grown in the 11 days since his birth, he was still so tiny to us. He was a great sport throughout the session, which included a little nap for him while we ate lunch. Joe and Maura have such wonderful colors in their home that, combined with the outfits they chose, made the images look very soothing. I couldn't think of a better turn-out.

I hope Joe and Maura enjoy the sneak peek of their beautiful family. And with that, I'm happy to introduce you to sweet Owen...

Look at those squishy cheeks!

And those little feet!







Look, Maura, he did smile for us!

So precious...


Joe and Maura: thank you for letting us invade your home and hang out while meeting Owen. Hopefully everyone was able to nap after we left. :) We're looking forward to seeing you next week!

Post #200...

Here's wishing my blog a happy 200 posts! It only took me four years to get here. ;)

And look, I even made some Oreo truffles for the occasion. I made these last year and they were really good, so I decided to make them again. How can you go wrong with Oreos?! Actually, I did go wrong on the white chocolate. I started out with a mix of white chocolate chips, some white baking chocolate, and some white bark. The mixture was clumpy and yellowish, and I wasn't happy with the coverage. For the second half—after I ran out of the mixture–I used only white bark like the recipe calls for, and it went on smoothly. Mine aren't as pretty as Bakerella's, but they won't last long anyway. Yum.

2009 Christmas card...

Now that (I'm pretty sure) all of our cards have been delivered, I thought I would post them here. We went with a linen paper that gave everything a bit of depth and interest, especially on the back where it's mostly a solid color. Our red was actually deeper than pictured—at least on my monitor—but I don't have time to mess with the images this morning.





Now that we have our names in digital form, I can use them on cards and things in the future. I know tradition is a stickler for signing your cards and making sure you address them by hand, but sometimes I find it perfectly acceptable to use shortcuts. Here's a secret: we "hand-addressed" all of our wedding invitations...with my handwriting made into a font and printed onto clear labels. Don't tell Martha! :)

Edited to add: Now that I think about it, we didn't even use clear labels. We just printed straight onto the envelopes, so it looked like I wrote it.

A quick post was the objective this morning, and now I need to get ready for my hair appointment. Is washing and fixing your hair for a haircut like brushing and flossing your teeth for the dentist? Hmm...

Done and done!

What can I say about today?

• Since there weren't any church services this weekend, it felt like a Saturday.
• We had a newborn session with Joe and Maura's adorable new baby.
  
• After using our new 70-200 lens for the session today, Dan and I are discussing how we can satisfy our desires for more "L" lenses. Our beloved 50mm 1.4 seemed lackluster in comparison.
  
• I was a packaging and addressing machine today. I'm still waiting on a few more client gifts that haven't arrived. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll come tomorrow morning so I can package and ship them with everything else. Here's my stack for the post office tomorrow:
  

This monogram canvas is in that stack somewhere. I wanted to show it because it's the first time this design has been ordered. I think it's super cute for a little girl's bedroom. You know... it seems like everyone is ordering brown designs. I've had a couple reds and a green, but other than that everyone has ordered browns—must be a popular color for home decor.

This week: it's a 3-day work week, and I will be spending it from the comfort of my home. Our Christmas cards have reached some of their lovely destinations, but if you didn't get one—and you want one—let me know.

Goodnight.

Christmas came early...

Okay, I'm going to admit something. We're all friends here, right? Believe it or not, my husband is a bad gift giver. There, I said it. He's a bad gift giver. Not because he gives bad gifts, though. Quite the opposite—he gives me the BEST gifts. It's his timing that needs work. As soon as he gets a gift in his hand, even before it's wrapped, he wants to give it to me. And once he's forced me to open my gift(s), I want to give him his gifts. This has created interesting Christmas mornings for us because we have nothing to open from each other.

So, when two packages arrived from UPS yesterday I wanted to make sure that one was kept for Christmas morning. I already knew what one package was because we discussed and ordered it together. [Side note] I went into work late yesterday so I could sign for these packages. There's nothing like stepping out of the shower and hearing the doorbell ring. [End side note] Leave it to Dan, he left work early, unpacked the packages, and wrapped the gifts before I got home...and then he made me open both. He's so cruel.

The gift I knew: a Canon 5D Mark II. The surprise gift: a Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS lens.





Now, we just need to decide if we will sell our Rebel XSi or keep it. It's a nice size to tote around and would serve as a backup if either the 40D or 5D is out of commission. It's been a great camera for us so far.

Today: Dan and I had one of his family Christmas parties today. His dad's side gets together for lunch on the Saturday before Christmas. We were running out the door this morning, an hour behind schedule, and forgot the Christmas cards we needed to distribute. I was so mad. I made the best of the situation by opening our Christmas card list on my phone and updating addresses with everyone. Did you know that Google spreadsheets can be edited on the iPhone now?! I haven't tried any other types of documents yet, but that really helped my sanity.

The rest of the day included some needed relaxation. Right now I'm enjoying some couch time with Dan and Saturday Night Live. Muse is on the show tonight!

Tomorrow: Dan and I get to have lunch with Joe and Maura and meet their baby boy for his newborn session. Yay! After that, I will be getting monogram canvases ready for shipping. If you were a canvas giveaway winner, you will receive it this week. Other than that, I'll see where the day takes me.

I should be headed to bed...

It was another night like last night. Not much to say, and no pictures to show, since I just whittled at my task list. Speaking of task lists, if anyone is looking for super simple online to-do list management, this site is very cool. I just wish I could use it. It's much too simple for what I'm used to.

So, I'm thinking about next year and how I might designate business vacation days for myself ahead of time. You know, when I know that a busy time is approaching, it's around a holiday or after a busy time, etc. My workaholic self would probably work right through those vacations, though. This year when I was feeling uninspired or lost, or just tired, I took a break. I relaxed on the couch, I watched movies with Dan, I cleaned (though you wouldn't know it by looking at my house right now), and all was good. I took the days I needed and got back into the swing of things. I'm just not sure if I want to continue with what works, or try a different route.

My word for the year has also been in the back of my head—margin. As I went from day to day, I would think about creating margin for myself. Making sure that I made time to just hang out and do nothing, spend time with friends, get out of the house (now I sound like a shut-in), and reduce stress by not over-scheduling or saying yes to everything. While there were some very hectic weeks this year, during the Fall in particular, I think I did a pretty good job with the margin factor.

[Side note: That whole "say yes to everything?" We had a series at church about commitment and it was fantastic to hear. It was all about making your NO mean NO, and your YES mean YES. You can hear the messages here. The series is at the bottom of the page.]

Anyway, as depressing as this post may sound, I've enjoyed this crazy business journey. I will continue to follow my dream, continue to work hard at what I'm passionate about, continue to create days of rest for myself (somehow), and see where I'm led.

Goodnight.

[Edited to add: I just checked my twitter stream, and I saw this site about choosing six habits for 2010. Leo from Zen Habits will help you form those habits. I am horrible at creating (good) habits because I'm not patient enough with the process, so I might look into this. Let me know if you decide to do it.]

Not much to say...

It'll be a quick one tonight because today was uneventful and without a picture. Between work, a carry-out dinner, delivering a print order that arrived today, designing and emailing proofs to the canvas giveaway winners, and getting our Christmas cards ready for the mailbox tomorrow, I am beat.

I will leave you with something cool, though. If anyone would like to get me a Christmas gift, a month's subscription of these would be fantastic. ;)

Goodnight.

Christmas tree tomfoolery + toy testing...

Isn't that a fun word...tomfoolery?

Today was bittersweet.

• Bitter: it was the last day of my Fall semester class. I had a great class and I hope the students go on to be public speaking rock stars. Or at least resist the urge to say "um" 30 times in 5 minutes.
• Sweet: I only had 11/17 students come to class and give their last speech today, so class let out early and I stayed on campus for a couple hours afterward to turn in my final grades.
• Bitter: I only had 11/17 students come to class to give their last speech today, so I had to give out some zeros.
• Sweet: Once I left campus, I came home for lunch and toy testing (more on that later). Our Christmas cards and some other print products arrived while I was gone, so opening the packages was like...Christmas?
• Double sweet: Our Christmas cards are addressed and ready for postage. While I was finishing them, Dan and I watched/listened to a Craig Lyons performance on Second Life.
• Bitter: There are a handful of cards that I don't have addresses for yet.
• Sweet: Dan and I had the final drawing for our monogram canvas giveaway.
• Bitter: I wish I could have given all of the participants a canvas.
• Sweet: We chose two winners instead of one. The giveaway was a lot of fun and I hope we can do something like it again soon.

Back to that Christmas tree tomfoolery. While I was busy cleaning our upstairs office last night, Dan was busy making our tree look like something out of Star-Trek.


And here is the reason I was cleaning the office and toy testing. This thing is huge. Actually, I don't think "huge" does it justice. It's at least two feet wide. I bought it a couple weeks ago after going back and forth about the purchase, and just received it yesterday. I've wanted a wide-format printer for a while and I was persuaded by a mail-in rebate—which turned into an instant rebate, but that's a story for another day. Meet the Epson R2880.



I printed a few things today and messed around with color profiles to test out the color. It's really make-or-break whether this new printer can print our business colors correctly, and overall print as close to actual colors as possible. We already have three printers from over the years that don't come close to printing our business colors correctly—that wasn't the objective when we got them (or inherited them by marriage). The only one that does is our laser printer, but sometimes I just need an ink-jet. Call me picky... crazy... whatever. I'm excited. I'll keep you posted.

An extra day...

This morning I really didn't want to get out of bed. I was really tired and my bed was really comfy, but I got up and started getting ready. I tried to pick out my outfit in my head, thinking of which dress pants I had washed. I was not looking forward to going to work. I had just finished my hair when Dan told me that we needed to leave. I was really confused because I normally don't go into work until 9:00, and it was only 7:45. And he had his car--we didn't need to ride together.

That was when Dan said that we needed to leave at 7:45 for his 8:30 meeting at church...and that was when I realized that it was Sunday instead of Monday. And just like that I had gained an extra day to my weekend. Too bad tomorrow really is Monday.

This afternoon and evening I worked on a couple maps for a wedding invitation. Once I finished the first one, I decided to make some caramel apples. I've wanted to make them since Halloween, so it's about time. Can you guess which is mine and which is Dan's?



And once I had that nice, little break, I went to work on my second map.

This week:

• Our print lab says that our Christmas cards and some of our clients gifts will be delivered on Tuesday, so I can start addressing envelopes and packaging those gifts.
• Dan and I need to buy/make family gifts.
  
• This week I'll be putting a discussion question or two on our Facebook fan page. I'm looking to get some feedback for next year, so any input would be awesome! Also, on Tuesday I'll have the FINAL drawing to give away a monogram canvas. I can't believe it's been four weeks already!

Ready...set...JUMP!

Today I was looking through our California pictures from January. I was originally trying to find an extra picture to print with a handful of others, but ended up taking a little trip down memory lane. I had forgotten about the following series until I saw it again today, and I thought I would share the giggles.

These were spontaneously taken on Venice Beach—by a friend that we stayed with during our visit. My hair is much different now! I know Dan will disagree, but I like my current 'do much better. ;)

Here, there, and everywhere...

Most of my days are pretty random. Even when I do have main things that I want to get accomplished, it seems things will pop into my head from hours or days before and I want to write them down or get them done right then. Otherwise, my thoughts are fleeting and won't come back until hours or days later, if at all. Or, my day might get diverted by something unexpected. While I normally take the time to notice and appreciate the little things, most of the time it's just easier to share the larger things.

So, here are a couple of the bigger things today:

• Today was the last day of a 6-week business course I've been taking online. The class was offered by the BAKERY gals, and I would totally take another class from them. I learned so much in the last six weeks. Now I need to organize everything, do a little soul searching, catch up on unfinished homework, and get ready to kick booty in 2010.
• I noticed that one of my paper vendors is offering some new pocket folds, so I updated my event request form for stationery design. This form is nine pages of FUN—to me at least—gathering details about the event and stationery pieces, and showing different options.
• I thought today was Saturday until I realized that it's actually Friday. That's cause for celebration, right?
  

What are you doing with your actual Saturday?
Happy weekend!