Uppercase Living SALE! 40% off select expressions!

40% Off select expressions, plus FREE SHIPPING on orders of $50 or more! Through January 4, we’re offering a 40% discount on exclusive Uppercase Living expressions. Here are just a few of the over 200 designs available. For more information and to see all the discounted expressions, check out http://sandykreps.uppercaseliving.net/ and click the red box in the bottom right corner. Download the sale catalog and open as a pdf in Acrobat!

Old Navy WINNERS!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! Here are the winners of the Old Navy Weekly Giveaway. Thanks to everyone for playing, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Random numbers were generated courtesy of my 4-year-old.

razberiswrl
April
Amy
Dawn
Anna Mae
Julie
Sasha
Becky
Claudine
love my babies!!

Be watching your in-boxes for your coupon from Old Navy Weekly!

Old Navy GIVEAWAY!

Awesome giveaway from OldNavyWeekly.com, Old Navy’s new weekly coupon hunting site! They've given me the opportunity to give away 10 coupons worth $50 off a $100 purchase. The coupons are good from December 25-31, 2009.

Live the fantasy of fab jeans and great prices when you step into Old Navy’s One Day Wonder sale (12/26/09 only)! Be enchanted with amazing denim deals – adult jeans just $15 (Reg. $29.50-$34.50) and kids and baby jeans are just $10 (Reg. $16.50-$19.50), select styles only.

Don’t miss out on the One Day Wonder sale (in-store only)!

10 readers will get: $50 off $100.

TO ENTER: Check out OldNavyWeekly.com and find out what the SuperModelquins are wearing this week. Come back here and and LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me what your favorite look is. Don't forget to leave an email address so we can send the coupon to you if you win!!! Contest closes at 6 p.m. ET 12/23/09! Winners will be selected randomly.

Old Navy Weekly giveaway rules:
Coupons are valid for a limited time only. Old Navy and M80 cannot replace a coupon that was not redeemed in the correct timeframe. If winner fails to respond within the timeframe the coupon is to be redeemed, an alternate winner will be selected. Once redeemed code is no longer valid and cannot be used again, These are only one-time use coupons. The individual code should not be shared with nor used by multiple users. If a Sales Associate advises that code is not working, customer should ask them to key in the alpha-numeric code under the barcode (if the code is valid, and it’s just a question of the barcode reader having issue with the print quality of the code, then keying in should work – unless it’s already been redeemed then it will come up as invalid).

The Glass Half Full

Lately, I've been thinking a lot of being an optimist and restructuring the ways I use words to convey ideas. In examining the way I think, I realized that a lot of my self-chatter was rather negative, particularly regarding myself, and my days were littered with "have to's" and "shoulds." As my stress has mounted over the past few months, my health has declined, and my friends have been urging me to cut through the crap and focus purely on the real "musts" for awhile, pointing out that a great many of my "shoulds" were really "want to's" and could be eliminated without much fanfare.

Seeing the glass half full, it turns out, may yield both mental and physical benefits. Having an optimistic outlook on life can prevent depression, boost your immune system, and improve general health.

So, I've been cutting back on my task list, and focusing on what really needs to be done. I've become more cognizant of my self-talk, stopping myself when I hear something negative and recasting it into something positive. When I think to myself that I "have to" do a task today or I "should" go somewhere, I stop and ask myself if it's really a need or if I just "want to." A lot of my "shoulds" really are turning out to be "coulds."

I just stumbled upon another idea today, and I think it's another good step in recasting the way my brain is working these days. It's a Two-Column To-Do List for the week. On one side, you list the items that you truly must do this week. On the other side, you can list things you’d like to get done. You use the first column to prioritize tasks and then you can feel free to fill in the rest of your time with items you choose from the second column. This simplified to-do list restores a bit of choice and freedom to the week, but ensures the important stuff still gets taken care of.

What do you do to restore sanity to your to-do list and combat the voices in your head that urge you to do more? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Your Tree Can Live to Tell the Tale...

My husband ran across this story in the New York Times, and I had to pass it along. I love this! It's about a guy in California who rents out live Christmas trees, then picks them up and replants them to use again next year. Isn't that awesome? The delivery trucks run on biodiesel; the trees are cared for by adults with disabilities; the drivers will pick up donations for Goodwill and used wrapping paper for recycling; and the web site also sells eco-friendly, fair-trade ornaments. Talk about a green holiday! I really hope this idea catches on!

Simplicity Challenge Week

It's Monday, so let's have a Simplicity Challenge Week, shall we? Here are 7 challenges to simplify and be a bit greener this week. You can do these in any order!

Day One: Wrap a few of your holiday gifts today. Choose at least 5 gifts that you can wrap in something REUSABLE -- a cloth shopping bag, a dish towel, a wine bag, a blanket, a pretty box, etc.

Day Two: In preparation for the holidays and the new influx of "stuff", grab a bag or box and cull 20 items from your home, and drop the donations off at your local charity.

Day Three: Make a meal plan. Save food from being wasted and save cash from being spent on unhealthy fast food: go through your freezer and pantry and plan at least one week's worth of meals using what you already have as much as possible.

Day Four: Invest in a programmable thermostat if you don't already have one. If you do have one, set it. Using a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or air-conditioning according to a preset schedule. As a result, the heater doesn't operate as much when you are asleep or when no one's home. You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours.

Day Five: For one day, avoid watching commercials and reading advertisements. You won't be as tempted to buy as much stuff, and both the planet and your wallet will thank you.

Day Six: Put a recycle bin next to the spot you sort mail. All junk goes directly into the bin.

Day Seven: Make a list of the minor repairs that are annoying you, such as the leaky faucet in the bathroom, the running toilet, and the burned-out light bulb in the closet. Get these things fixed.

Q&A with Yvonne: Perfect Photos of the Kiddos!

I'm excited to introduce you to one of my best friends, Yvonne Niemann of Yvonne Niemann Photography. Yvonne and I were college roommates and have known each other for over a dozen years now. She's one of the most gifted photographers I've ever seen, and she has a special gift for capturing the most precious images of babies and children. I hope you'll check out her photography, and if you're in the St. Louis area, give her a call to schedule your own custom session! Her images are stunning! She took my profile photo for this blog as well as the most gorgeous portraits of my boys and our family, and the experience was so much fun for the whole family!

Your blog name: Yvonne Niemann Photography {the blog}

Your blog address: http://www.yvonneniemannphotography.info/blog

Your hometown: Currently live in St. Louis, Missouri - most of my growing up was in Leavenworth, Kansas

How long have you had your blog? almost a year

3 things readers need to know about you or your blog: I'm an on-location baby and children's custom portrait photographer. I enjoy cooking and once in a while I share recipes on my blog. I'm a mommy and wife.

List 5 things you LOVE (about ANYTHING): My husband, daughter, wine, Autumn, photography

Your biggest pet peeve: people who lie

How old were you when you first started taking photos? I can't remember ever NOT taking photos. Started as a tot and then got really serious about photography in Junior High when my uncle gave me a Pentax K1000 camera with a couple lenses and flashes.

You're also a SAHM. How do you make time to run your photography business with your little girl at home? My priority is my family, so I only book sessions on weekends when my husband is home and can watch our daughter, Lily. Because of this, I don't work every weekend and I'll only do two sessions a weekend (one a day). Right now, I work very hard to not let my business take over our family life. I quit my career as a video producer to raise our daughter, so I try really hard to focus on our daughter while she's home. She'll start preschool next year, so I'll pick up more sessions, but I don't ever want to get overwhelmed with my business where I end up losing focus on my family. Not taking on a large load of sessions also allows me to really take care of my clients and give them outstanding customized customer service.

Any tips for staying organized while running a household and a business from home? I've always been an organized person. Being a journalism major, working for papers, television stations and then in the corporate world as a video producer, organization was always key to those positions and luckily it's a part of who I am. I keep calendars updated and have folders for EVERYTHING! I also set aside certain days for particular tasks to help keep things in order and keep me on task. It's really just about routines.

Your favorite location to take photos of your daughter? That's a hard one because I love taking pictures of her every where. I just love capturing moments that I don't ever want to forget. Running in fountains, jumping on her bed, twirling in a field, throwing leaves, taking a bubble bath, playing with her favorite toys, exploring the world, sleeping.... I'm a romantic and love pretty landscapes, so I love to get her in settings that speak to me on that level and let her just be herself in those locations. Love capturing her just being herself!

You primarily do photography for babies and small children. How did you decide on that specialty? I used to be strictly a photo journalist and landscape photographer, but when my friends started having babies, I just loved capturing their sweet lil' ones and I got hooked. When I had had my daughter, I just couldn't stop taking pictures of her and that's when I really decided to specialize in babies and children. I just love everything about lil' tots. They're so much fun and childhood passes so quickly that I want to capture those special moments that parents cherish.

How do you get great photos from a child who doesn't want to take pictures? I play games with them, so that they don't feel or notice that I'm taking pictures. Every child is different, so I do different things with every child - sometimes peek-a-boo, sometimes telling them "secrets" to get them to do what I need, telling jokes, making silly sounds, tickling, shaking my booty - whatever works!

What tips would you give to parents for a successful photo shoot with a professional photographer? Read all the materials given to you by the photographer since a lot of times there are some great tips within those items. Dress to coordinate, but don't be too matchy like in uniforms. Textures, layers and coordinating colors really help add interest in portraits. I'd also suggest scheduling your session either early in the morning or around sunset if you're going to be outside since that's when the sun is the most flattering. The most important thing though is that you schedule your session when your child/children are in their best moods - if your lil' ones are grumpy, you're just not going to get the images you want regardless of how perfect the sun is at that time of day.

What's your best tip for getting a good picture with the average point-and-shoot camera? Get down on your child's level (yep, this means sometimes you'll be laying on the floor) and capture them doing what they enjoy doing. Sometimes the best images are the ones where your subject isn't looking at the camera, but are just playing and having a blast being themselves. This will also allow you to get some great natural sweet expressions instead of forced smiles. I'd also suggest turning off your flash as much as possible. Your images will improve dramatically. Also, fill the frame with your subject and include only those things that ADD to your finished image.

Centsational Uppercase Living Ornaments

Check out Centsational Girl's blog today for some elegant ornaments she made using Uppercase Living vinyl. Kate's having a DIY ornament party and has some great ideas. Stop by and make sure to leave her a comment!

Little Touches That Make a Holiday Home

I love Christmas, in part due to the way the whole world seems to break out all the stops and decorate for the season. There's lights, ornaments, garlands and candles every where you turn. I love decorating for the holidays, but I don't have a lot of time to invest in going all out, so here's a peek at a few small projects that take very little time and still make the house feel like a holiday home.

Tablescapes: I love using glass vases and apothecary jars around my house, changing the contents for each season. For Christmas, I create little landscapes and use them for table centerpieces, tucked on the mantle or bookshelf, or even nestled next to the Christmas tree. By the season's end, I'll probably have a half dozen variations scattered throughout the house. They're simple to make: grab any wide-mouth vase or jar, sprinkle fake snow on the bottom, and then get creative with your still life.

Hi little birdie!

Santa vacations in Texas!

Holiday Cards: We get a ton of holiday cards, and I was never sure how to display them all nicely until I hit upon this idea last year. We decorate our kitchen dining area with festive garland, then attach our cards to it as they come in the mail throughout the season. I use large gold paperclips to attach them -- the clips are hidden behind the cards. It's fun to watch the garland go from plain to overflowing by New Year's.

Before...

As the Season Goes...

Ornament Party: Ornaments are always fun to make, and they can really help personalize your tree, particularly if you customize them for your family. Glass ornaments are very inexpensive at craft stores, and easy to personalize. Here's a few I made in just a couple of minutes using Uppercase Living vinyl or you can use stickers, rub-ons, or even paint. Leave them empty or fill them with fake snow, glitter, or other small objects. My favorite is the Seven Blessings Ornament (shown as Joy) -- simply decorate a plain glass ornament, then fill it with 7 strips of paper with written blessings for the coming year (Love, Abundance, Good Friends, etc. -- make them personal!)

Many wishes for Joy and Peace this Holiday Season!