Christmas Cards

I take a lot of pride in designing and making my own homeade Christmas cards every year. But with Christmas sneaking up faster and faster, and with motherhood making my life busier and busier, I just don't have the time to assemble so many cards from scratch. So this year I am turning to Shutterfly. They have so many unique & Modern cards to choose from that I may have a tough time deciding which one to pick. But even though I will be buying my cards, I will still add some personal touches to make them stand out even more.

*Bloggers get 50 free holdiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010 *

Halloween 2010

Maddie couldn't make up her mind on her halloween costume this year. So she was a cat Saturday night for Trunk or Treat at church, then a pumpkin (her original choice) on the actual Halloween.

Neglected

Like many others, I've noticed, I've been neglecting my blog in lieu of Facebook. I suppose that now that I can access and update Facebook directly from my phone, it's so much easier to write about all the quick non-important day to day goings on there and leave all the major (and long) updates to Blogger. Also, since more people seem to view Facbook than my blog (including most of the people who read my blog), it's almost a why bother. Plus, there just haven't been that many major life happenings worth writing about. I don't really want to write too many details about the results of our robbery (in either medium) for security reasons. You never know who's looking at it. I suppose I could have written about Madison's 3rd birthday party last month, but I'm still sorting through all the pictures to find the best ones to post.

Of course there are a few things on Facebook that I can't do from my phone and that require me to be in front of our computer at home (which doesn't happen that often). I can't upload photos that weren't taken from my phone, and I can't link my latest blog update to Facebook when I actually DO have one of those long and detailed life events that can't be summed up in a sentence or two. So perhaps my blog isn't dead after all.

So for a personal update, we are nearly complete with our settlement from the insurance company, I think we got our credit stuff resolved (we were finally able to obtain the financing we requested), and we are looking forward to flying up to Michigan this weekend.

PSA

Please note the following Public Service Announcements:

1. "Document all your stuff"
In the event that your belongings are lost (fire) or stolen, it is adviseable to have complete documention in at least one of the following forms to provide to the insurance company
-Model/Serial numbers (also owners manuals & boxes)
-Receipts/credit card statements (if model/serial numbers are not available)
-If the item is a gift or inherited, provide photographs & note any distinct markings
Keep all documentation in a secure place, possibly offsite.

2. "Keep tabs on your credit report"
I know you've seen all the commercials (some jingles are quite catchy). Do not ignore them. Not only to prevent identity fraud, but also to catch any innacurate information. Example - A certain lending institution (name has been removed for security) reported delinquencies in payments that did not exist. These inaccuracies caused our credit score to drop dramatically (in a short amount of time) and prevented us from aquiring a loan from another lending institution.

Thank you for your attention.

These announcements were brought to you by the Helman Institute for Bad Luck - "May our misfortune save you from hardship & frustration."

*update on PSA #2* - The lending institution has been made aware of their error, has sincerely apologized for their mistake, and we are still in the process of rectifying the situation with the credit bureaus and the other lending institution who denied our loan application.

Madison Marie is 3