Friends

Thank you to Jessica over at Gifting Gumshoe, not only does she help spend all my money with her great shopping finds, but she is sweet and always entertaining.  She has sent me this friends award.

Here are the rules:  Tag eight bloggers that aim to find and be friends.  Bloggers that are exceedingly charming and are not interested in self-aggrandizement.  Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes is cut, even more friendships are propagated.  Please give more attention to these writers.  Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award.  

I am tagging the following bloggers to thank them for always making me smile!

Grosgrain Garage 

I absolutely LOVE Lisagh and have been reading her blog FOREVER!

She is one of the original bloggers that got me hooked!

Writing Quiets The Voices In My Head

I can relate to many of her foibles, she is true blue and ALWAYS makes me laugh!

At Home At Last

Chris is so sweet and gives me great advice and always makes me feel good!

Preppy Little Dress

PLD is always entertaining and gives great shopping tips on where to find the best deals!

Monograms and Manicures

Hopsy is the quintessential prep and gives me some great ideas!

Dirty Little Secret

Jersey Girl's daily reads about her life are so realistic and fun - she always keeps me smiling!

A Mom's Life

Beth makes me strive to go through life with the dignity and grace she so beautifully exhibits!

Eat, Sleep, Drink Preppy

For making me always want to spend my money!  And with coupon Mondays and the fabulous giveaways doesn't make me feel all that bad about it in this economy!

Thank you girls for all making my days a little brighter!

Muffy Martini Giveaway

Muffy Martini is having a great giveaway.  Pop on over using this link (or on the link to her site under Good Reads) to leave a comment on her post and a chance to win this adorable necklace. 

  

Giveaway ends April 4!

Lilly P Wannabe Giveaway

Check out this adorable giveaway from Lilly P Wannabe. She has paired up with My Pair Tree for this one. Click on this link or on the Lilly P Wannabe link at the right under Good Reads. But hurry, winners will be picked April 3.

Help!

THIS ECONOMY IS KILLING ME!

Mr. P and I own a small business.  It is a Photography Studio/Production House.  We do Photography and Graphic Design.  Anything you want - brochures, catalogs, websites - soup to nuts.  Photography, Graphic Design, Typesetting, Printing . . . you name it.

To toot Mr. P's horn, he is very good at what he does.  He is reasonably priced and has one of the best eye's for design and a great reputation to boot.  Most of our business is Word of Mouth.  That says something for Mr. P.  His clients love him - actually, everybody loves him - he is one of those guys that you never hear anybody badmouth.  And I'm not saying that because he is my Dear Hubby.  Our friends and I have a joke . . . Whenever anybody is talking about Mr. P, I think they say, "Mr. P, what a great guy, but that X@$% of a wife!"  I digress.

This economy is killing me.  You see, usually, in a downturn of the economy, people want to advertise more and we make a killing.  I used to always laugh because when the economy is good, Mr. P and I are struggling to make ends meet, but when there is a downturn and everyone else is "tightening up the belt straps", we are doing very well.  Not this time.  I have discovered that in this "recession"/economy such as it is, the first thing that has gone for many companies is not necessarily advertising and packaging, but "NEW" advertising and packaging.  

You see, Mr. P is one of the few photographers that gives up rights to his work.  If we do work for you, you own it.  Most photographers "own" their images and charge a royalty EVERY time it is used.  Not Mr. P.  He only asks that he be allowed to use his images as well.  Strictly as samples of his work.  None of our clients have a problem with this.  This is such a big thing, because it saves our clients a tremendous amount of money.  When they are doing new brochures/catalogs, they can still use old images without the added cost.  If they are still carrying a particular product or really like a particular image, they can use it in the new catalog along with the new work and not have to pay extra for it - it is theirs for life to use whenever, however they wish.  This is VERY unusual in the advertising industry.  (At least in our neck of the woods)  The problem with this for Mr. P and me is that although it is a great selling point for us, we are now officially losing money.  Because of the economy, our clients are just reprinting older catalogs or using what they have for advertising and packaging.  Hence, no new work for Mr. P.  

I knew that this would happen with our Mom and Pop Shop clients and even a few of our bigger accounts.  But the realization of the dire state of our economy came to me recently when I realized that even our largest of clients are doing the same thing.  We have some pretty big names on our client list and as we went through it and did the emailing, letters and phone calls, most everyone gave us the same answer.  "Not right now, but hopefully soon".  Yes, hopefully soon.  Because if it is not soon, it might just throw me over the edge!  Don't get me wrong, Mr. P has steady work.  Small brochures and catalogs and a few photos of new items here and there.  But our 200+ page catalogs have come to all but a screeching halt.  What I would like to know is Where Is Our Bailout?!  Is this going to end anytime soon?

Mr. P, ever the optimist, with his mantra of "This Too Shall Pass" has become a bit more frugal and is in the midst of reeling in clients with discounts and deals.  He is a budgeting maniac and can make $5.00 go an awfully long way.  I, on the other hand, am having quite a hard time with the budgeting, non-spending, coupon-cutting, discount-searching ways.  I am not frugal.  I am not a saver.  I am not meant to discount shop.  I buy what I like and have never given thought to whether it was $1.00 or $1000.00, or whether I REALLY need this or that item.  I simply don't know how to do this.  I am trying, but it does not seem to be working out to well.  My $5.00 no sooner hits my pocket then it's gone.  On what?  I couldn't possibly tell you.  Coffee?  Candy? Dog Treats for Miss B?  I do not know, I think there might just be a hole in all my pockets.

This economy is killing me.

My belt strap is already too tight.  Where is my bailout?

All Things Southern and Preppy

All Things Southern and Preppy is having a great giveaway . . . click here or on the link under Great Giveaways on the right to see the great bag sets (you get to choose your colors) AND the cute magnetic boards with removable monogram or name. But hurry, March 17th is the dealine - winner will be announced on her blog on the 18th.

22 Years Later . . .

I believe that I have posted before that I am a low maintenance friend. I don't expect too much, too often of the friends I surround myself with, and I prefer to have friends that are low maintenance as well.

Although I try to give 100% to the people in my life, I oftentimes just don't have it in me. Life gets in the way. The people I hear about that can juggle work, home, friendships, aging parents, etc . . . with ease totally blow my mind. I have enough trouble trying to find my own socks in the morning, never mind throwing hubby, kids, parents and all my friends into the mix. So, quite frequently and unfortunately, it is the friends that end up taking the back seat.

I bring this up because I guess I have always been like this and I have throughout my life let friendships slip away because of the simple fact that I was just too busy, I'd call tomorrow or some other relatively lame excuse.

I recently joined Facebook and people who were near and dear to me (and some that were not so near and dear) have come out of the woodwork. I have found people that I often think about, people I haven't thought about in years, but were still an integral part of shaping who I am today and people that I haven't thought about in years and pretty much still don't care to think about. :) It has been an amazing ride!

Anyway, over the past month or so, 4 women who I went to high school with - 3 of which I haven't seen since our graduation day 22 years ago - have been chatting on Facebook. It started with the casual "We should get together for drinks" and slowly turned into an online argument as to why none of us had actually set anything up. Needless to say, we guilted the most social of the 5 of us to name a time and place. And she did. Amazingly, we were all available and agreed to be there.

So last night, 22 years later, we met. As far as I am concerned, they all pretty much look exactly the same - not even a day older than our graduation day. They are all such beautiful women and it was like we had never been apart. We ate, we drank, we laughed and we even cried. It was so good to see them. It made me wonder what it was that made us go our separate ways with not even so much as a glance back all those years ago. Again, I guess life just got in the way.

After5 hours of catching up and reminiscing, we parted ways. About halfway to our cars, we all seemed to turn around at the exact same moment and all blurted out the same thing. "We need to do this again. SOON!" And I knew we all meant it, and I know that we will. And I vowed to myself at that moment to Never. Ever. Let life get in the way of my friendship with these beautiful, wonderful women again. Not even for 1 year, never mind 22.

60 Degrees Gone To Waste

So it hit almost 60 degrees today in good old RI. I know that you are all thinking - that is so great, we are pretty sick of you complaining about the weather up there.

It was a beautiful day and warm enough that I didn't want to be pent up in the lovely abode. Again, don't see a problem with this? Well, this was the problem - although it was so nice out, there is still about a foot of snow on the ground and with the warm air, it has now turned to a mix of wet snow, slush and mud. The weather had me itching to get outside, rake some leaves, do something in all our beds or just frolick around the yard. But alas, that was not in the cards, as I could not find my trusty Wellies and I don't care for wet feet!

So what did I do with this wonderful gift Mother Nature has graciously sent our way? I took a 3 hour nap! Yes, 3 hours! On our couch. In the family room. INSIDE. Yes, a productive day.

Well, there's always tomorrow!

Eat, Sleep, Drink Preppy Decal Giveaway

Ok, here's the deal . . . If you love to customize everything, like me - yes, I admit it, I would have my monogram etched on Dear Hubby and Cherubs if I could . . . then this is the giveaway for you!

Preppy Monogrammed Gifts is giving away, NOT 1, BUT 6 set of decal monograms. You can choose the size and font - use them for your car, wall, lamps, cell phone, or anything and everything else you can think of.

If you are interested in all the different ways you can win - because there are so many including viewing the blog, Facebook and Twitter . . . click here - this link explains all. Or as usual, you can just go to the upper right corner and click on the Eat, Drink, Sleep Preppy link under great giveaways.

Good Luck.

Misadventures of a Newlywed Tote Giveaway

Another giveaway - what did I tell you about it being the month for giveaways? This time you can choose one of four adorable totes, courtesy of The Preppy Princess - and the best part is that these totes aren't even available at their online store yet, so you would be the first to own one! Click this link, or the one under Great Giveaways to the right and be sure to enter before March 9.

Farm Chicks Surprise Giveaway

Yes my friends, it is absolutely true!  Another Giveaway - I guess it is just the month for great gifts and giveaways!  Farm Chicks is having a surprise giveaway.  Follow this link to enter and to get some links to see if you can figure out what the surprise may be.  But hurry, the deadline is Thursday, March 5.  

Why I Am Here

I am sure you all know the people that are constantly in search of their mission here on earth. They believe that they are here for some reason, for some greater good, to make a difference or a fingerprint on Society before they die.

I am not one of those people. I am quite clear as to why I was put on earth. The reasons are as follows:

Why I Am Here - According to Dear Hubby and Children

To do laundry
To clean the house
To bring home some of the bacon
Fry it up in a pan
And never let Dear Hubby Forget He's A Man
To purchase above fried bacon on a weekly basis
To find missing articles of clothing
To find missing electronics
To purchase above electronics and clothing immediately upon request
To maintain and keep in safe place any and all items that may or may not be needed within the remainder of hubby and cherubs lifetimes
To fix electronics or bring them to store to be fixed immediately upon malfunction
To serve as local bus service to cherubs and all 10000000 friends
To send any and all monetary and/or tangible donations cherubs' school may need
To outfit entire Middle School with necessary supplies on weekly basis
To referee all arguments and ugliness cherubs feel necessary
To satisfy all wants, needs and go gets upon demand
To maintain proper sanitary conditions in cherubs' bedrooms and baths on daily basis
To act as Office Manager, Administrative Support, Secretarial Pool and Custodial Engineer in Dear Hubby's Office
To be private liaison between cherubs and friends
To act as full-time dog walker, house sitter, mail carrier and doggy doo remover
To handle all Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Sales Calls for office and home with aplomb
To stay awake last and wake up first - just in case someone may need something at some point
And finally to run the immediate world of brood smoothly and circumvent any and all mishaps prior to their happenings

I am sure that I have probably missed some of the missions I am on this earth to do, but I feel that I may have inadvertently been given missions that were not meant for me. I was just wondering if anyone out there would happen to know where I can file a grievance or at least ask for a yearly review so I can get an increase in pay!

The Gifting Gumshoe is At It Again

The Gifting Gumshoe is having another giveaway. She has teamed up with The Posh Palmetto and is giving away an adorable boxed note set. The set includes everything the Uberprep will need for her Thank Yous and Thinking of Yous. To check out the cute set and enter her giveaway, follow this link and follow the instructions. The deadline is March 9 and the winner will be announced March 10.

Happy Entering!