The Holidays--Christmas Postcards--why not?!

I feel like I walk a (very) fine line between loving the holidays and hating them. I love the traditions, receiving gifts, being with family, and of course the food. I hate the shopping, the pressure of coming up with the perfect gift, and the stress in general.

For some reason, I like to have my Christmas cards out BY December 1st (but usually the day after Thanksgiving is preferable.) I'm not sure if I just like being the first Christmas card in my loved one's mailbox or if I just like having that ONE task checked off my list...but it's neurotic. I realize that.

And here I am, in a panic, because I need to MAKE my Christmas card so I can send it out in 15 days. Ahhh! I intended on taking my son out in a cute outfit over the weekend to a picturesque WV locale (of which I'm not really sure where), but alas, the weather did NOT cooperate. It's been rainy, cold & very overcast for a few days now....so no photos for our family.

At first,  I had great big plans (I'll order the remote for our camera so we can set it up in a tripod and take the picture ourselves---because that's what we really need to do--right?!) I suppose I've changed my expectations because today I settled for ironing a clean white sheet (people don't normally do that, right?) and using a very scientific system of rope, knots, and clothes pins, and managed to hang my backdrop from our landing....I was able to get a few pictures of my son & both dogs, even one of my son RIDING one of the dogs (not normally allowed) but this is a special occasion.

Trekkie, my adopted girl, we love her but she makes us crazy. 

Mason, my firstborn, he is truly a piece of work, but as much as we put up with him....I suppose this is proof that he puts up with us as well! 

Normally, not allowed, Callum is taking Mason for a quick ride. Mason wonders if this kid is for real. 

I must add, that at one point, I would use preset formats from Shutterfly.com, they are fantastic and if you order early, they are generally on sale. BUT, last year I decided as an attempt to save money I would send a Christmas postcard (less postage, less cost per card, and less paper waste too!) I thought it was a great idea, and I received a wonderful compliment from a dear friend asking where I ordered from last year, but I'm a glutton for punishment. Without spending an arm & a leg, it was expensive to send customized/personalized Christmas postcards (the ones I came across were super cheesy I might add.) SO, last year I spent HOURS and HOURS creating the perfect layout, format, font, photo. The first card I ordered even looked horrible when printed because of an unfortunate blurry photo, but luckily 123print.com, has an amazing return policy, so after some minor tweaks I reordered and was much happier with round 2.

So here I am...starting to sweat it, not loving the pictures but thinking okay I might be able to make this work....but in usual fashion, I'm starting the holiday season in my usual fashion: slightly panicked, beginning to stress, dreading what I have to do...

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