holiday cards 2012 AND a giveaway!

oh November - I was shocked when you appeared [out of nowhere] and now you're almost halfway over!?

It feels like yesterday that Sweet P was born and now she'll be SIX MONTHS on Friday!? You know what that means... yup, photoshoot! we're heading out to a local park to take P's six month photos as well as some family pictures for our holiday cards... that's right - holiday cards! This will be our third holiday card that we're sending out as a married couple and our first as parents so let's get real, I'm SO excited about pimping sweet p out. 

so I've done things a bit backwards - I picked out a few cards that I like and we're in the midst of "styling" ourselves to fit the bill - fun, casual outfits, a little fall/plaid/relaxed, not so traditional... so of course, I turned to Shutterfly (check out their special offers page for some great deals!)

here are a few of the Shutterfly Holiday Cards that I have my eye on....

which one is your fave?

what is your holiday card style? traditional? modern? 

any tips for getting babies to cooperate in family photo shoots 

[please send me happy baby vibes on saturday afternoon]?

do you want to come over and pick out my outfit and do my hair and makeup?

are you over all of these questions?

okay, here's your reward for reading all my jibber-jabber... 

Shutterfly has generously partnered with me to host a giveaway for forever88 readers!

what's in it for you?

 An extra $50 off your order of $50 or more 

(excluding tax and shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos) 
(expires 12/14/2012 – no extensions)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

good luck lovies, I'm off to attempt to find something for me and P to wear on Saturday - I got the hardest part done, DJ has picked out his outfit!

**This is a sponsored post, many thanks to Shutterfly.

the best book I've read in awhile and a giveaway winner...

seriously. Bossypants by Tina Fey is the funniest book I've read in a long, long time [and I read a lot]. I devoured it and read it every chance I got over a two day period and then laughed like an idiot so much that DJ kept giving me deathstares [it's not my fault that the NYTimes articles he was reading weren't as amusing as my book].  Here are five excerpts that illustrate the wide breadth of topics covered and  of course I'd be remiss if I didn't share one of my personal favorites... 

"THE MOTHER'S PRAYER FOR ITS DAUGHTER"

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches. 

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the the Beauty. 

When the Crystal Meth is offered, 

May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half 

And stick with Beer. 

Guide her, protect her 

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the nearby subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock N’ Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age. 

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. 

Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes

And not have to wear high heels. 

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit. 

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers. 

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. 

Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, 

For Childhood is short -- a Tiger Flower blooming 

Magenta for one day -- 

And Adulthood is long and Dry-Humping in Cars will wait. 

O Lord, break the Internet forever, 

That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers 

And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed. 

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, 

Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, 

For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it. 

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, 

That I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 a.m., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. 

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. 

“My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental note to call me. And she will forget. 

But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes. 

Amen.

oh Tina Fey, I love you.

Honestly, I will say though this is one of those cases where I want the actual book [ahem, DJ, feel free to run out and get that for me anytime now] as I think this is going to be a classic that I'll want on my bookshelf and that I'll want to underline and dogear and just pick up and flip through.

...in completely unrelated news...

Congrats to Tara for winning the UPrinting Giveaway I hosted last week! Tara, I'll be in touch with UPrinting and give them your info, thanks to everyone who entered.

UPrinting Giveaway!

I'm so excited to be hosting another Giveaway! UPrinting has offered up 250 flyers for one of my readers!

These would be great if you have an company [etsy? photography? underwater basket weaving?! anything!] that you want to promote. 

They'd also be great to promote your blog, events or for a fun get together. 

Don't have anything to promote? I'd make 4x6 postcards to send to your friends and family!

The details: 

Nightclub Flyers / Flyers

250 Flyers for one winner

4.25" x 5.5"OR 4" x 6"

14pt Cardstock Gloss, Front Only Printing,

[nightclub flyer templates and business flyer templates also available for download!]

3 Business Days Turnaround, *Free Shipping

Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only.

To Enter: Just be a follower of forever88 and leave a comment with your email by Sunday, July 31st!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive night club flyers for hosting. For more information about flyers, please visit UPrinting.com

Giveaway Winner!

Giveaway winner! 

Using random.org - the winner of the Heart of the Matter giveaway is Tara from Fabulous but Evil 

[check out her blog, she really is fabulous]

Tara, I'll be in touch about mailing the book to you! 

Hope the rest of you are having a happy Thursday! :)

"Heart of the Matter" - Book Giveaway

Happy Friday! my kindle comes today and to celebrate - I'm doing a giveaway. I originally bought Heart of the Matter to read over the weekend, but as I want to break in my new toy I'm going to download it and give the book I bought away to one lucky blog reader.

One lucky winner will receive a brand-spankin'-new paperback copy of Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin!

Mandatory Entry:

1.  Leave me a comment telling me the title of a GREAT book that you've recently read [I need ideas of what to download and read next!]

Extra entries:

1. Follow "forever88" [this blog, duh] via GFC

2. Blog about the giveaway

Make sure to leave a comment for each entry!

Entries accepted until Wednesday, March 30th at 12am.  

Winner announced Thursday, March 31st!